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AT  PLATTSBURG 


BY    THE    SAME    AUTHOR 


THE  HmmO-PLACES       .     .     Mt     $1.35 


AT  PLATTSBURG 


BY 

ALLEN    FRENCH 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER^S    SONS 

1917 


COPiniB6ST,  1917,  BY 

,  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


'    FuBlisLed  April,  tgij 


TO 

SQUAD    EIGHT 

IT  MAY  SURPRISE  YOU,  BOYS,  TO  SEE  THAT  IN 
MY  BOOK  THE  SQUAD  ISN'T  AS  IT  REALLY  WAS. 
SOME  OF  YOU  ARE  NOT  THERE,  AND  THE  REST 
ARE  ALTERED.  BUT  WHILE,  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 
STORY  THAT  I  NEEDED  AND  THE  FACTS  I  WANTED 
TO  DISPLAY,  I  COULD  NOT  DRAW  YOUR  PORTRAITS, 
I  HOPE  I  HAVE  SUCCEEDED  IN  SHOWING  THAT 
THING  IN  PLATTSBURG  WHICH  MEANT  MOST  TO 
ME     PERSONALLY,     THE     SPIRIT     OF     OUR     SQUAD 


357278 


PREFACE 

To  describe  military  scenes  is  always  to  rouse 
the  keenest  scrutiny  from  military  men.  I  write 
this  foreword  not  to  deprecate  criticism,  but  to 
remind  the  professional  reader  that,  while  the 
scenes  I  have  described  are  all  from  experience, 
the  aim  in  writing  them  was  not  for  technical 
exactness,  often  confusing  to  the  lay  reader,  but 
rather  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  general  picture 
of  the  fim  and  work  at  a  training  camp. 

Nowadays  we  are  making  history  so  fast  that 
readers  may  have  to  be  reminded  that  last  sum- 
mer occurred  the  mobilization  on  the  Mexican 
border  of  most  of  the  regular  army  and  many 
regiments  of  the  National  Guard,  a  fact  which 
considerably  affected  conditions  at  Plattsburg. 

The  "Buzzard  Song,"  which  my  company  used 
with  such  satisfaction  on  the  hike,  was  written  by 
a  camp-mate,  John  A,  Straley,  who  has  kindly  al- 
lowed me  to  use  it,  with  a  few  minor  changes. 

Allen  French. 

Concord,  Massachusetts y 
April  J,  jgiy. 


AT  PLATTSBURG 


Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

On  the  ttaifij  nearing  Plattsburg. 
Friday  morning,  Sep.  8,  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

Though  you  kissed  me  good-by  with  affec- 
tion, you  know  there  was  amusement  in  the 
little  smile  with  which  you  watched  me  go.  I, 
a  modest  citizen,  accustomed  to  shrink  from 
publicity,  was  exposed  in  broad  day  in  a  badly 
fitting  uniform,  in  color  inconspicuous,  to  be 
sure,  but  in  pattern  evidently  mihtary  and  ag- 
gressive. What  a  guy  I  felt  myself,  and  how 
every  smile  or  laugh  upon  the  street  seemed  to 
mean  Me!  The  way  to  the  railroad  station 
had  never  seemed  so  long,  nor  so  thronged  with 
curious  folk.    I  felt  myself  very  silly. 

Thus  it  was  a  relief  when  I  met  our  good  pas- 
tor, for  I  knew  at  the  first  glance  of  his  eye  that 
my  errand  and  my  uniform  meant  to  him,  as 
they  did  to  me,  something  important.  So  strong 
was  this  comforting  sense  that  I  even  forgot 
what  importance  he  might  attach  to  them. 

But  fixing  me  with  his  eye  as  I  stopped  and 
greeted   him   (being   within   easy  hurrying   dis- 


2  AT  PLATTSBURG 

tance  of  the  station)  he  said  in  pained  surprise: 
"And  so  you  are  going  to  Plattsburg?'' 

Then  I  remembered  that  he  was  an  irreconcil- 
able pacifist.  Needing  no  answer,  he  went  on: 
"I  am  sorry  to  see  that  the  mihtarist  spirit  has 
seized  you  too." 

Now  if  anything  vexes  me,  it  is  to  be  told 
that  I  am  a  mihtarist.  "Not  that,  sir,"  said  I. 
"  War  is  the  last  thing  that  I  want." 

"Train  a  man  to  wield  a  weapon,"  he  re- 
joined, "and  he  will  itch  to  use  it."  I  think 
we  were  both  a  Httle  sententious  because  of 
the  approach  of  the  train.  "Your  argument  is, 
I  suppose,  that  the  coimtry  is  in  danger?" 

"Exactly,"  I  repHed. 

He  raised  both  hands.  "Madness!  No  one 
will  attack  us." 

I  refrained  from  telling  him  that  with  so  much 
at  stake  I  was  xmwilling  to  accept  even  treaty 
assurances  on  that  point.  He  went  on.  "The 
whole  world  is  mad  with  desire  to  slay.  But  I 
would  rather  have  my  son  killed  than  killing 
others." 

He  is  proud  of  his  son,  but  he  is  prouder  of 
his  daughter.  Said  I,  "If  war  comes,  and  we 
are  unprepared  for  it,  you  might  have  not  only 
your  son  killed,  but  your  daughter  too." 

Horrified,  he  had  not  yet  begun  to  express 
himself  on  the  impossibility  of  invasion,  when 
the  train  came.  So  we  parted.  To  tell  the  truth, 
I  am  not  sorry  that  he  feels  so:  it  is  very  ideal. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  3 

And  I  regret  no  longer  having  my  own  fine  feel- 
ing of  security.  It  is  only  a  year  or  so  ago  that 
I  was  just  such  a  pacifist  as  he. 

If  I  in  my  new  uniform  was  at  home  a  curios- 
ity, when  I  reached  Boston  I  found  myself  merely 
one  among  many,  for  the  North  Station  was 
full  of  Plattsburgers.  There  is  great  comfort 
in  being  like  other  folk.  A  thick  crowd  it  was 
at  our  special  train,  raw  recruits  with  their  ad- 
miring women-folk  or  fim-poking  friends.  The 
departure  was  not  like  the  leaving  of  soldiers 
for  the  front,  such  as  we  saw  in  July  when  the 
boys  went  to  Texas.  We  should  come  back  not 
with  woimds,  but  with  a  healthy  tan  and  much 
useful  experience.  So  every  one  was  jolly,  ex- 
cept for  a  young  couple  that  were  walking  up 
and  down  in  silent  communion,  and  sometimes 
furtively  touching  hands — a  yoimg  married  pair, 
I  thought,  before  their  first  separation. 

We  were  off  without  much  delay,  a  train- 
load  wholly  of  men,  and  all  greenhorns.  For 
all  of  us  had  nice  fresh  crinkly  blouses,  and  olive- 
drab  (properly  o.  d.)  knees  not  yet  worn  white 
(as  I  have  seen  on  returning  Plattsburgers) 
while  our  canvas  leggings  were  still  imshaped 
to  our  manly  calves.  Our  hats  were  new  and 
stiff,  and  their  gaudy  cords  were  bright.  And  we 
were  inquisitive  of  the  life  that  was  ahead  of  us, 
readily  making  acquaintance  in  order  to  compare 
our  scraps  of  information.  Dismay  ran  here  and 
there  with  the  knowledge  that  the  typhoid  in- 


4  AT  PLATTSBURG 

oculation  required  three  weekly  doses.  Thank 
goodness,  that  is  over  with  for  me.  We  tried  to 
be  very  soldierly  in  bearing,  evidently  an  ejffort 
in  other  cases  than  mine.  One  fellow  had  his  own 
gun  along;  he  wanted,  he  said,  to  make  a  good 
score  on  the  range.  So  I  had  my  first  chance  to 
handle  an  army  rifle. 

You  know  that  when  I  left,  you  had  been  worry- 
ing as  to  how  I  should  stand  the  strain  of  the 
coming  month's  work.  I  will  admit  that  I  have 
been  wondering  about  it  myseK.  I  have  worked 
very  hard  for  the  last  few  years,  practically  with- 
out vacation,  in  order  to  marry  as  suited  Vera's 
ideas.  And  then,  two  years  after  she  had  said 
Yes,  and  when  my  earnings  ought  to  satisfy  any 
woman,  began  the  complex  strain  of  the  breaking 
of  the  engagement — the  heart  burnings,  the  self- 
searching,  the  difficult  coming  to  an  understand- 
ing. And  now  that  she  and  I  have  parted  friends, 
with  both  of  us  quite  satisfied,  I  have  been  reaHz- 
ing  how  much  run  down  I  am,  so  that  it  has  seemed 
quite  possible  that  Plattsburg  life  might  be  too 
strenuous  for  me.  But  a  good  look  at  my  com- 
panions has  made  it  clear  that  I  can  stand  up 
with  the  average  of  them.  A  fair  number  of 
them,  to  be  sure,  are  brown  and  seasoned  by  the 
summer.  But  quite  as  many  are  pale  and  stooped 
from  desk  work,  or  pasty  from  good  Uving.  If  I 
fall  out,  I  shall  have  plenty  of  company. 

I  write  this  letter  while  the  train  is  approaching 
Plattsburg.    When  I  woke  this  morning  we  were 


AT  PLATTSBURG  5 

at  a  standstill  in  some  railway  yard,  and  beside 
us  was  standing  another  train,  labelled  like  ours, 
doubtless  carrying  the  New  York  men.  It  drew 
out  ahead  of  us,  and  I  suppose  its  inmates  are 
now  debarked,  and  gawking  about  them  as  pres- 
ently my  companions  and  I  shall  gawk.  To- 
night I  shall  write  again.    Affectionately 

Dick. 


David  Ridgway  Farnham,  3D,  to  His  Mother 

On  the  Train  to  Plattsburg. 
Friday  morning,  Sept.  8th. 

Dear  Mama: — 

It  is  unlucky  that  both  of  our  cars  were  out  of 
order  just  when  I  was  starting  for  Plattsburg. 
For  the  train  has  been  very  hot  and  stufy,  and 
so  crowded.  I  tried  once  more  to  get  myself  a 
statroom,  but  when  the  agent  said  I  should  have 
to  be  with  three  other  men,  then  I  just  gave  up, 
and  got  the  porter  to  make  up  my  upper  birth 
early,  and  climbed  into  it  though  I  wasn't  sleepy 
at  all.  But  it  was  something  to  get  by  myself 
and  be  a  little  privat. 

I  spoke  to  a  few  of  the  fellows,  but  I  couldn't 
make  much  out  of  them.  One  had  never  been  to 
college,  and  another  knew  nothing  of  automobiles, 
and  another  began  talking  about  the  drill  regula- 
tions, but  you  know  I  never  even  bought  the 
book.  The  whole  train  was  one  big  smoking  car, 
and  some  fellows  near  me  were  very  noisy  over  a 
game  of  poker. 

I  suppose  I  shall  mannage  to  get  along  with 
these  fellows,  because  I  know  I  must  if  I  want 
what  father  promised  me,  and  if  the  feUows  at 
the  Casino  aren't  to  laugh  at  me.  But  so  far  as 
I  can  see,  everyone  on  the  train  isn't  at  all  my 
kind.  Father  doesn't  understand  how  I  feel 
about  fellows  who  are  not  in  our  set.     I  don't 

6 


AT  PLATTSBURG  7 

look  down  on  them,  you  know,  for  I'm  sure  most 
of  them  are  very  nice  fellows  of  their  sort.  But 
I  never  knew  anyone  of  their  kind  before,  and 
what  am  I  to  talk  to  them  about?  Its  all  very 
well  for  father  to  say  that  I  can  get  something 
worth  while  from  every  man  I  meet;  but  he's  a 
business  man,  and  so  he's  used  to  them. 

You  mustn't  think  I'm  imhappy  if  I  say  I  shall 
miss  you  and  shall  hate  to  be  confined  by  the 
camp  regulations.  I'm  not  going  to  back  out  for 
father  and  cousin  Walt  have  put  it  up  to  me  to 
see  the  thing  through  and  though  I'm  kind  of 
used  to  disapointing  father  I  don't  intend  that 
Walt  shall  think  I'm  sandless. 

But  when  the  camp  breaks  up  you  must  be 
sure  to  be  here,  with  the  Rolls-Royce,  to  take  me 
home.  I  don't  think  I  could  stand  another  trip 
like  this.    Love  from, 

David. 


Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Plattsburg  Camp. 
Friday  evening,  Sept.  8. 

Dear  Mother: — 

I  had  scarcely  finished  my  letter  of  this  morning 
when  the  train  began  to  slow  down,  and  then 
drew  up  alongside  a  wide  and  gently  sloping 
field,  while  on  the  other  side  was  the  lake.  With 
our  luggage  we  poured  out  into  the  field,  evidently 
our  training  ground,  since  beyond  it  were  tented 
streets,  with  some  big  open-sided  buildings  that 
doubtless  had  some  mihtary  use,  since  we  saw 
rookies  going  in  and  out.  In  haste  to  get  our 
share  of  what  was  to  be  had,  we  consulted  the 
printed  slips  handed  to  us  in  the  train. 

"On  arriving  at  camp:  First,  Carry  your  hand 
baggage  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A." 

Where  was  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.?  There  was  no 
building  standing  near  of  even  so  much  as  two 
stories.  There  were  tents  and  there  were  shacks, 
but  even  when  we  came  to  a  street  busy  with 
electrics,  automobiles,  motor  trucks,  and  foot 
passers,  nothing  of  any  size  was  to  be  seen.  But 
as  I  followed  along  with  the  rest,  noting  that 
almost  everybody  we  met,  from  the  riders  in  the 
autos  to  the  drivers  of  the  trucks,  was  military, 
I  saw  a  skeleton  structure,  tar-paper-roofed,  and 
bearing  the  magic   letters  for   which   we  were 

8 


AT  PLATTSBURG  9 

looking.  There  regulars — artillerymen  with  red- 
corded  hats — ^received  our  bags  through  the  open 
frontage  and  stored  them  alphabetically. 

"  Second.    Go  to  the  mess-shacks  for  breakfast." 

We  went.  We  breakfasted.  The  mess  shacks 
were  those  other  open-sided  buildings  on  the 
drill-field  which  I  had  already  seen;  their  con- 
struction, being  merely  tarred  roofs  on  posts  and 
walled  with  mosquito  netting,  promised  no  ele- 
gance of  fare.  Nor  was  the  fare  elegant:  milk, 
coffee,  cereal,  hard  boiled  eggs,  bread,  butter,  a 
bruised  apple.  The  milk  was  of  two  kinds,  real 
and  canned.  Used  in  the  coffee,  or  with  sugar 
on  the  cereal,  the  canned  milk  was  good  enough 
as  poured  from  a  hole  punched  in  the  container; 
but  a  wise  man  near  me  prophesied  that  I  should 
not  like  to  drink  it  when  diluted.  Flat,  he  said. 
Tasted  like  chalk.  Doubtless  it  was  chemically 
correct,  but  (you  see  how  scientific  he  was)  the 
metaboHsm  of  the  body  despises  chemical  syn- 
thesis, and  for  real  nourishment  the  palate  must 
be  satisfied. 

"Third.  At  once  after  breakfast  go  to  the 
Adjutant's  Office  and  enroll." 

So  we  stood  in  line,  and  when  on  nearing  the 
window  of  the  office  I  heard  the  Adjutant  say  to 
a  predecessor,  "Where's  your  thirty  dollars?"  I 
got  out  my  greenbacks  and  presently  paid  them 
in,  twenty-five  for  our  maintenance  at  camp,  five 
to  be  returned  if  during  our  stay  we  had  not 
damaged  any  of  Uncle  Sam's  property.     And 


lo  AT  PLATTSBURG 

since  the  adjutant  assigned  me  to  a  company,  I 
began  to  feel  that  I  was  getting  somewhere. 

"Fourth.  Exchange  your  baggage  checks  for 
camp  claim  checks." 

None  of  that  for  me.  I  had  known  enough  to 
bring  but  a  large  suit-case,  leaving  behind  every- 
thing that  I  could  persuade  myself  was  imneces- 
sary.  There  was  a  memorandum  on  the  printed 
slip  to  the  effect  that  trunks  and  other  large 
pieces  of  baggage  would  be  stored  at  the  post 
barracks,  where  owners  could  visit  them  on  Sun- 
day mornings.  A  sad  weekly  ceremony  for  one 
who  had  to  choose  from  an  excess  of  luxuries ! 

"Fifth.  Report  to  the  officer  commanding 
your  Company." 

I  did  not  find  him.  Though  again  I  stood  in 
line,  this  time  with  men  with  whom  I  was  to  as- 
sociate, those  to  whom  I  reported  in  the  Orderly 
Tent  at  the  head  of  H  company  street  were  but 
sergeants  and  volunteers  like  myself,  though  men 
of  more  experience,  as  I  could  tell  by  their  weath- 
ered imiforms  and  faded  hat-cords.  They  filled 
out  a  card  concerning  me,  led  me  to  the  tent 
pole,  and  measuring  my  height  with  a  crude  but 
effective  instrument,  annoimced  "Tent  Eight." 

"Sixth.  Bring  your  hand  baggage  to  your 
tent." 

So  I  brought  it  from  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Now  the 
topography  of  the  camp  is  thus.  Just  within  the 
enclosure,  and  parallel  with  the  street  outside, 
runs  the  officers'  street,  their  tents  along  one 


AT  PLATTSBURG  ii 

side  of  it,  each  with  its  little  sign  bearing  the  oc- 
cupant's name.  From  the  other  side,  toward 
the  drill  gromid  and  the  lake,  lead  away  the  com- 
pany streets  with  double  rows  of  khaki  tents 
facing  each  other.  All  were  on  a  thin  and  barren 
soil,  where  between  the  tents  some  few  weeds 
straggled,  while  everywhere  else  men's  feet  had 
killed  all  growth.  No!  For  in  front  of  one  of 
the  tents,  under  the  protection  of  its  ropes,  grew 
a  half-dozen  thrifty  pansy  plants,  all  in  bright 
bloom.  But  elsewhere  all  was  brown  sand  that 
looked  as  if  it  might  blow  dust  in  clouds,  but 
which  also,  I  was  glad  to  see,  looked  as  if  it  might 
absorb  all  ordinary  rains.  The  street,  about 
midway  of  its  length,  rose  a  little,  then  dropped, 
and  straddling  this  ridge  I  foimd  Tent  8,  in  the 
best  possible  position  should  the  weather  turn 
wet.  As  I  entered,  stooping,  I  peered  about  the 
shadowed  interior. 

The  dry  floor  was  ploughed  into  holes  and 
ridges  by  the  feet  of  the  last  occupants.  One 
man,  bearded  and  grizzled,  was  sitting  on  a  cot  in 
one  comer,  exploring  the  interior  of  a  big  blue  can- 
vas bag;  a  professor  or  doctor  person,  who  gave 
me  one  keen  glance,  briefly  said  "Good  day," 
and  went  on  with  his  occupation.  A  second  bed, 
aheady  neatly  set  up  and  equipped,  stood  in 
another  corner.  Its  owner,  lithe  and  keen,  a  fel- 
low of  about  twenty-five,  was  watching  a  third, 
man-sized  but  boy-faced,  who  was  struggling  with 
a  cot  in  its  chrysalis  stage,  being  apparently 


12  AT  PLATTSBURG 

quite  unable  to  unfold  it.  I  knew  the  lad  at  a 
glance,  young  David  Ridgway  Farnham  3d,  whose 
cousin  Walter  was  in  my  class,  to  whom  I  was  best 
man,  as  you  remember,  some  five  years  ago. 
Now  young  David  has  been  the  laughing  stock  of 
the  family,  spoiled  with  riches  and  an  indulgent 
mamma.  Walter  told  me  that  many  tutors,  on 
princely  salaries,  just  managed  to  get  him  through 
Harvard  this  year.  And  here  he  was  at  Platts- 
burg!  However,  he  couldn't  know  me,  so  I  dis- 
posed my  things  in  a  corner. 

The  lithe  and  keen  person  seemed  lither  and 
keener  at  second  glance.  He  was  of  a  splendid 
blond  type,  with  flashing  blue  eyes;  everything 
about  him  was  perfectly  straight,  his  backbone, 
his  nose,  his  close-cropped  fair  hair,  the  thin- 
lipped  mouth,  the  drop  of  his  chin,  and  even  the 
precipitous  fall  of  his  high  cheek-bones.  He  had 
not  noticed  me  at  all,  so  intent  was  he  on  the 
struggles  of  young  Farnham.  A  very  efficient 
person  he  seemed,  and  immediately  proved  it. 
For  Farnham,  with  that  appealing  helplessness 
which  I  remember  in  him  as  a  charming  child 
(you  know  that  with  his  brown  eyes,  curly  hair, 
and  rosy  skin  he's  as  handsome  as  a  girl)  looked 
up  at  his  watcher.  He  immediately  said:  "Bend 
the  leg  the  other  way.  Now  the  next  one.  Now 
spread  the  whole  thing  out.  Now  spring  those 
two  cross-pieces  into  place."  But  even  then, 
though  the  cot  had  gained  a  recognizable  shape, 
Farnham  was  still  bafl9ed.    His  hands  were  soft, 


AT  PLATTSBURG  13 

and  so  were  his  muscles.  "This  way,"  said  the 
other  after  a  moment.  And  sitting  on  the  cot, 
with  his  feet  he  forced  the  cross-bar  at  one  end 
into  position,  then  swung  about  and  put  the 
other  one  into  place,  and  the  thing  was  done. 

"Thanks,"  said  young  David,  poUtely  but  not 
warmly,  in  a  way  that  showed  how  used  he  is  to 
being  waited  on.  "Have  a  cigarette?  I  sup- 
pose we  shall — er — ^room  together.  My  name  is 
Farnham." 

"Mine  is  Knudsen,"  said  the  other.  And 
then  I  appreciated  the  cause  of  his  blondness. 

"I'm  from  Harvard,  class  of  'sixteen,"  said 
young  David.  Well-grown  as  he  is,  I  couldn't 
help  thinking  of  him  as  young. 

"I'm  from  Buffalo,"  said  Knudsen  shortly.  "I 
run  a  foundry  there."  His  blue  eyes  were  un- 
wavering and  quite  expressionless  as  he  looked 
Farnham  over. 

"Farnham?  Farnham?"  said  the  man  with 
the  short  pointed  beard.  The  others  turned  and 
looked  at  him.  "I  remember  now.  You  were  in' 
my  section  in  English  A,  your  Freshman  year." 

"Oh,"  said  young  David.  "Professor  Corder. 
Of  course.  How  de  do?  I  remember  that  you 
flunked  me." 

"But  you  got  through  English  D  after  two 
tries,"  said  Corder.    "Such  is  college  life." 

As  none  followed  up  the  subject,  I  asked  where 
they  got  their  equipment.  On  their  direction  I 
went  to  the  store-tent  at  the  head  of  the  street, 


14  AT  PLATTSBURG 

where  on  the  strength  of  my  signature  an  obliging 
regular  intrusted  to  me  various  listed  articles, 
which  I  lugged  to  the  tent. 

This  domicile  is  in  the  shape  of  a  pyramid  on  a 
three  foot  wall,  about  sixteen  feet  on  a  side,  the 
whole  supported  by  a  soKd  post  held  by  an  iron 
tripod.  The  tent  contains  eight  beds,  the  cor- 
poral's always  to  the  right  of  the  entrance,  the 
others  in  a  mystic  order  which  I  will  not  bother 
you  with.  As  yet  we  did  not  know  how  we  were 
to  fall  in,  but  I  set  up  my  cot  modestly  among  the 
rear  rank,  put  under  it  my  suit  case,  laid  on  the 
cot  a  mattress  and  pillow,  properly  cased  in  light 
duck,  and  garnished  the  whole  with  three  blue 
blankets  which  promise  comfort  in  this  Sep- 
tember weather.  And  then  I  dove  into  the  blue 
bag. 

First  on  the  list,  a  sweater.  0.  d.,  like  all  the 
outfit,  and  very  heavy. 

A  poncho.  A  rubber  oblong  with  button-holes 
along  three  sides,  and  a  sht,  provided  with  a 
collar,  less  than  halfway  down  the  middle. 

A  shelter-half.  That  was  the  strangely  shaped 
piece  of  brown  duck,  in  pattern  something  like  a 
big  old-fashioned  kite,  with  imsymmetrical  but- 
ton-holes and  loops  of  rope. 

Five  tent-pins.    Aluminum,  ridged  and  bent. 

A  pack.  A  queerly  outlined  piece  of  canvas, 
provided  with  straps  of  webbing,  wider  or  nar- 
rower, with  buckles,  rings,  and  a  big  pocket. 
Its  attachments  numerous  and  incomprehensible. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  15 

A  cartridge  belt.  Easily  recognized,  with  its 
many  pockets  and  numberless  eyelets. 

A  first-aid  kit.  In  a  sealed  tin  box,  buttoned 
in  a  pocket  attached  to  the  belt. 

A  canteen  in  a  cloth  case.  Not  flat  and  cir- 
cular, but  sohd  and  bulky. 

A  bacon  tin.    Hm — a  small  box? 

A  condiment  can.  A  double  ended  contrap- 
tion, in  one  end  of  which  had  once  been  powdered 
chocolate. 

A  meat  can.  An  oval  saucepan,  with  a  lid  over 
which  the  hinged  handle  shuts  down. 

A  knife,  fork,  and  spoon. 

I  stuffed  them  away  again,  shed  my  blouse,  as 
I  saw  the  others  were  doing,  and  was  therefore 
ready  when,  our  squad  having  filled  up,  the  call 
came  for  us  to  fall  in.  Out  into  the  street  we 
tumbled,  each  of  the  dozen  and  a  haK  tents 
furnishing  a  squad,  the  squads  falling  in  accord- 
ing to  number.  The  sergeants  formed  us,  got  us 
into  column  of  squads,  and  marched  us  away 
down  the  public  street,  where  military  persons 
of  all  kinds  went  by,  from  lone  privates  to  officers 
driving  automobiles,  and  where  the  only  notice 
taken  of  us  was  by  civiHans  in  motor-parties,  who 
came  to  see  our  zoo. 

So  here  I  was,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life 
marching  in  the  ranks,  like  any  private  not  know- 
ing where  or  why.  For  a  quarter,  a  half,  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  we  went  at  a  quick  pace  on  the 
macadam,  till  my  soft  tissues  knew  what  was 


i6  AT  PLATTSBURG 

meant  by  the  "hammer,  hammer,  hammer  on 
the  hard  highway."  And  my  misery  had  plenty 
of  company.  The  man  in  front  of  me,  a  bulky 
person,  was  wringing  wet,  and  I  saw  another 
fellow  with  the  sweat  actually  dripping  off  his 
chin.  It  was  a  welcome  relief  to  turn  in  at  a 
big  gate,  pass  between  brick  buildings,  and  come 
onto  a  great  grass  field  across  which  we  marched 
directly  toward  a  building  with  a  long  portico,  on 
which  the  sight  of  rookies  waiting  promised  us 
rest.  Very  willingly  we  broke  ranks  at  command. 
We  learned  from  our  predecessors  that  we  were 
there  for  physical  examination. 

When  our  turn  came  at  last  it  was  all  very 
brisk  and  business-like,  and  soon  I  was  passed  as 
being  sound  in  body  and  feet.  With  most  of  us 
the  ordeal  was  equally  successful;  but  one  poor 
chap  sat  melancholy  in  a  blanket,  waiting  for  a 
second  test.  Then  I  straggled  back  to  camp  with 
Professor  Corder,  who  confessed  himself  just 
under  the  age-limit  of  forty-five.  In  spite  of  his 
successful  examination  he  acknowledged  a  little 
anxiety  as  to  whether  he  could  stand  the  work; 
has  coddled  himself,  he  acknowledges,  for  years; 
worries  about  the  effect  of  woollen  stockings.  I 
imagine  that  most  men  of  his  age  here  have  some 
such  anxiety. 

When  enough  of  us  had  dribbled  back  to  camp 
we  were  again  assembled,  and  were  taken  down 
to  the  drill-field  by  the  sergeant.  And  there  for 
the  first  time  in  my  life  I  saw  a  West  Pointer  at 


AT  PLATTSBURG  17 

his  work.  He  appeared  from  somewhere,  and  the 
sergeant  handed  us  over  to  him.  A  tall  and 
Hthe  fellow  he  is,  so  graceful  that  not  even  his 
military  carriage  can  disguise  it.  He  has  an 
oHve-dark  skin,  hair  that  curls  at  the  temples, 
black  eyes,  nose  straight  and  thin,  and  Hps  curv- 
ing like  a  woman's.  Give  him  the  drooping 
mustache  of  older  days,  and  what  a  romantic 
figure  he  would  make !  I  knew  him  at  once  for  a 
Southerner,  from  his  coloring,  his  physical  beauty, 
and  a  sKght  trace  of  languor,  real  or  affected. 

But  he  knew  his  business.  There  is  an  uncer- 
tainty about  the  sergeants,  as  thinking  "Am  I 
doing  this  right?''  But  though  he  looked  at  us 
out  of  eyes  that  were  a  Httle  sleepy  his  tenor  was 
clear  as  a  silver  bugle,  and  (if  you  can  excuse  the 
mixture  of  similes)  it  snapped  like  a  whip.  No 
hesitation,  nor  even  any  thought  as  to  what  he 
should  do  next.  We  straightened  at  the  first 
command  he  flung  at  us,  and  in  three  minutes  we 
were  working  to  please  him.  The  position  of  a 
soldier !  Was  there  the  slightest  spark  of  amuse- 
ment in  his  eyes  as  he  described  it  to  us,  as  if  to 
say  "You  mob  of  clerks  and  manufacturers  and 
professional  men  can't  really  take  this  position"? 
I  never  "Hfted  and  arched"  my  chest  so  thor- 
oughly. Did  he  intimate  as  he  gave  his  other 
commands,  "You  men  may  play  at  doing  this, 
but  really  it  takes  a  soldier  to  succeed"?  If  this 
was  his  meaning,  certainly  it  put  us  on  our  met- 
tle.   What  he  gave  us  were  the  facings  and  the 


i8  AT  PLATTSBURG 

steps  and  marchings,  the  simple  movements  by  / 
fours,  guiding  and  dressing.  When  we  blundered,  I 
there  was  his  little  concealed  smile  to  make  us 
swear  to  do  the  thing  right  next  time.  As  we 
marched  he  kept  pace  with  us,  and  then  all  his 
languor  was  gone.  His  step  was  springy,  his  arms 
swung,  his  eye  roved  up  and  down  the  line,  and 
he  snapped  out  his  "One,  two,  three,  four!''  each 
like  a  little  pistol  shot.  Remarked  Corder,  be- 
side me,  "His  time  is  absolutely  perfect — do  you 
notice?''  I  had  noticed.  The  sergealits  tried  to 
imitate  his  counting,  but  compared  to  him  they 
were  hoarse  and  spiritless. 

And  he  was  only  our  lieutenant!  The  first 
sergeant  called  him  such,  in  answering  a  question; 
and  then  I  noticed  the  single  bar  on  his  collar. 
What  would  the  captain  be  like? 

The  bugle  blew  Recall,  and  it  was  very  wel- 
come. We  were  marched  back  to  the  company 
street  and  dismissed.  My  rear  rank  man  was  one 
Pickle,  a  hardware  clerk  from  a  town  in  central 
Pennsylvania,  who  never  in  his  life  saw  a  big 
league  baseball  game,  and  yet  can  tell  you  the 
names  and  records  of  all  the  chief  players,  es- 
pecially of  the  Brooklyns,  for  which  club  he  is  a 
rooter.  He  said  of  the  lieutenant:  "One  of  those 
wiry  wonders.  Tireless  Thomas  of  the  Training- 
field.  Doesn't  he  never  remember  that  we  are 
flesh  and  blood  ?  Me  for  my  little  cot ! "  Follow- 
ing his  example,  more  than  half  of  the  squad  lay 
down  till  roused  by  the  news  that  our  rifles  were 
being  served  out.    So  we  flocked  out  in  haste  to 


AT  PLATTSBURG  19 

get  what  would  give  us  lamed  shoulders  and 
tired  arms.  Being  thus  roused,  I  next  went  for  a 
swim  in  the  lake,  which  was  stony  and  cold  and 
altogether  invigorating. 

The  lieutenant  had  us  out  again  in  the  after- 
noon, us  and  the  guns.  Consequently  we  were 
put  through  the  manual  of  arms  imtil  the  an- 
ticipated lameness  is  now  a  reality,  not  only  of 
the  arms  but  of  the  whole  body.  I  find  it  is  not 
enough  to  shift  your  rifle  according  to  prescribed 
motions;  it  must  be  snappy,  and  in  cadence. 
"Like  a  clock-work,"  muttered  Pickle  in  despair. 
And  it  is  a  crime  to  drop  a  rifle.  Its  first  com- 
mission roused  our  lieutenant  from  his  languor. 
"Who  dropped  that  piece?"  he  thimdered. 
Then  he  outpoured  contempt.  "There'll  be  glue 
on  little  Willie's  fingers  next  time,  sure,"  whis- 
pered Pickle. 

Tired  at  the  end  of  the  day,  I  yet  feel  virtuous, 
having  devoted  to  my  country  a  poimd  of  my 
flesh.  I  write  by  lantern  light  in  the  tent,  there 
having  been  no  conference  tonight  on  accoimt  of 
rain.  Most  of  the  squad  are  away,  exploring  the 
city;  but  Corder  is  already  abed  and  sleeping — 
"as  insurance,"  he  said  to  me,  explaining  his 
middle-aged  caution.  I  shall  follow  him  soon. 
Good-night  from  j^^^^^ 

Postscript,  written  Saturday  morning  at  5. JO,  waiting  for 
breakfast. 

We  have  in  our  squad  one  Randall,  a  person 
of  recent  Yale  extraction — though  (having  good 


20  AT  PLATTSBURG 

Yale  friends)  I  don't  lay  it  up  against  the  college. 
Yesterday  he  established  his  bed  in  the  corporars 
place,  which  so  far  the  rest  of  us  had  modestly 
avoided;  and  he  fell  foul  of  young  David  ten 
minutes  after  he  had  come  among  us.  The  two 
are  evidently  the  youngest  of  us,  with  "college'' 
sticking  out  all  over  them,  and  so  might  naturally 
draw  together.  But  there  is  a  still  more  natural 
antagonism  between  them,  of  the  thoroughbred 
for  the  mongrel.  For  yoimg  Farnham,  in  spite 
of  his  effeminacy,  has  the  instincts  of  his  an- 
cestors; and  Randall,  in  spite  of  a  magnificent 
physique,  carries  round  with  him  something  that 
says  to  David,  "Don't  trust  him !"  What  makes 
personality?  I  declare  I  cannot  put  my  finger 
on  the  thing  that  makes  me  sure  that  Randall 
is  yellow;  but  David  has  seen  it,  and  has  drawn 
back  from  it.  Ninety-nine  Yale  men  may  slang 
Harvard,  and  the  Harvard  man  will  take  it  in 
good  part — and  vice  versa;  but  Randall  is  the 
hundredth,  and  he  said  a  few  things  that  made 
David  tremble,  not  with  anger  but  with  disgust. 
"Have  a  cigarette?"  asked  Randall  at  the  end. 
"No,  thanks,"  answered  David. — "Oh,  he  doesn't 
smoke!"  cried  the  other.  "I  do,"  said  David, 
and  Ht  his  own  cigarette.  I'm  sorry  for  it.  Prob- 
ably Randall  can  make  David  pay  for  this  decla- 
ration of  war.  Yet  I'm  glad  too.  And  you  should 
have  seen  Knudsen's  eye  flash,  and  then  soften 
as  he  looked  at  the  young  fellow. 
War  has  been  continuing  these  last  few  minutes. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  21 

In  the  most  ridiculous  way  David,  after  his 
shower  bath,  messed  round  with  a  shaving  brush 
and  a  piece  of  soap,  trying  to  get  a  lather  on  his 
face.  Randall  saw  it  first,  and  with  roars  of 
laughter  called  our  attention  to  him.  Corder, 
who  instantly  imderstood,  quietly  twinkled;  but 
Knudsen  wrinkled  his  brow  at  the  boy.  "Have 
you  never  done  that  before ?''  he  demanded. 
Said  innocent  David,  "I  forgot  to  get  my  man 
to  show  me."  "Your  man?^^  asked  Knudsen. 
"His  valet!"  screamed  Randall,  overcome  with 
the  humor  of  the  situation.  Knudsen,  never 
having  been  acquainted  with  the  Harvard  Gold 
Coast,  showed  in  his  keenly  intelligent  face  first 
amazement,  then  disgust,  then  to  my  pleasure  a 
kind  of  pity.  In  a  moment  he  had  both  brush  and 
soap  in  his  hands,  and  soon  plentifully  lathered 
David.  The  boy  then  took  his  razor,  one  of  the 
old  style,  and  immediately  gashed  himself. 

With  indulgent  impatience  Knudsen  took  the 
razor,  sat  the  boy  down,  and  muttering  to  him- 
self that  he'd  never  tried  this  job  before,  skilfully 
shaved  one  haK  of  David's  face,  at  each  moment 
explaining  the  use  of  the  weapon.  "Why  didn't 
you  get  a  safety  razor?"  he  demanded.  The  lad 
answered,  "  My  cousin  Walter  uses  this  kind."  I 
remember  that  he  used  to  idolize  Walt,  as  all  the 
younger  fellows  did;  if  he  still  has  some  of  the 
feeling  there's  hope  for  him.  Knudsen  made  him 
shave  the  other  half  of  his  face  himself — a  botched 
job,  but  still  David  finished  it.    Randall  remarked 


22  AT  PLATTSBURG 

that  safety  razors  were  best  for  girls,  and  when 
David  finally  emerged  fresh,  pink,  and  handsome 
in  spite  of  liis  woimds,  Randall  said,  "Now 
you're  yonrseK  again.  Miss  Lucy." 

The  boy's  face  is  very  sensitive;  I  saw  that  he 
was  more  hiu-t  than  angry,  and  he  flushed  deeply 
with  the  pain  of  it.  It  was  Knudsen  who  was 
ai^ry,  but  he  said  nothing.  Corder  still  watched 
quizzically.  I  know  that  the  title  will  stick.  It 
is  not  ten  minutes  since  the  word  was  uttered, 
and  we  are  already  taking  it  up  as  David's  name. 
Randall  uses  it  flagrantly,  the  rest  of  us  as  a  matter 
of  course,  all  except  Knudsen.  "  Come  on,  Lucy," 
he  said  just  now  when  the  first  call  for  assembly 
sounded,  and  with  his  hand  on  David's  shoulder 
he  went  with  him  into  the  street,  protectively,  I 
think. 

I  shall  close  this  and  send  it  off.  Again  love 
from 

Dick. 


Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Saturday,  Sep.  p,  IQ16. 
At  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.    Nearing  gP.M. 

Dear  Mother: — 

My  tremendous  postscript  of  this  morning  has 
somewhat  led  me  out  of  the  order  of  the  day.  I 
found  myself  awake  at  reveille,  and  rolled  will- 
ingly out  of  bed.  At  the  spigot,  the  one  and  only 
article  of  convenience  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
company  street,  I  found  a  helpful  comrade  who 
gladly  soused  me  from  a  bucket,  and  the  day 
was  begun.  Back  in  the  tent  I  found  the  fellows 
slowly  coming  to  consciousness,  all  except  that 
accurate  and  careful  elder,  Corder,  who  was  dress- 
ing with  great  preciseness  after  a  shower  bath, 
and  was  calmly  pleased  at  having  no  particular 
symptoms  of  old  age  to  report.  He  and  I  have 
a  valuable  distinction  as  the  only  men  in  the 
squad  with  foresight  enough  to  have  been  typhin- 
ated,  worth  while  on  this  day  when  the  others 
must  submit  to  inoculation,  if  they  want  to  nm 
no  risk  on  the  hike.  Then  David's  shaving,  as 
described.  It  was  cold  when  we  finally  turned 
out,  and  our  humane  lieutenant,  placing  himseK 
on  a  table  at  the  head  of  the  street,  while  we  in 
open  formation  faced  him,  put  us  through  setting- 
up  exercises  that  warmed  us  sufficiently  to  brave 
the  chilly  mess-shacks  for  our  breakfast. 

It  was  there  that  David  found  me  out.  He 
23 


24  AT  PLATTSBURG 

first  got  my  given  name,  Richard.  Then  he  made 
me  acknowledge  that  I  was  in  Harvard,  1910. 
At  the  next  pause  he  said,  "My  cousin  Walter 
Farnham  was  in  that  class."  "Yes,"  said  I, 
and  talked  to  the  man  on  my  other  side.  That 
stumped  David,  that  anyone  should  know  his 
cousin  Walt  and  not  be  eager  to  talk  about  him. 
He  did  not  approach  the  subject  again  till  he  and 
Knudsen  and  I  and  Corder  were  together  in  the 
tent.  Then  he  put  it  right  up  to  me.  "Weren't 
you  my  cousin's  best  man?"  "I  was,"  said  I, 
and  Sick  Call  having  just  blown,  I  went  out, 
saying  that  I  wanted  to  see  who  answered  it.  I 
know  Knudsen  and  Corder  looked  at  me  hard; 
as  for  David,  he  cried  out,  "Oh,  I  beg  your  par- 
don!"  I  have  reasoned  out  that  with  his  delicate 
social  perceptions  and  the  stock  of  gossip  that  his 
mother  supplies  him  with,  he  must  have  concluded 
that  I  was  not  in  the  mood  to  talk  of  weddings; 
but  the  real  fact  is  that  I  don't  intend  to  be  en- 
listed as  his  nurse.  As  for  the  other  side  of  it,  I 
know  I  can  depend  on  him  not  to  tell  the  others 
about  Vera  and  me. 

When  I  came  back,  it  being  about  time  for  drill, 
I  foimd  him  explaining  that  while  of  course  he'd 
not  had  his  "man"  at  college,  he  always  used  a 
barber  there.  The  man,  I'm  sure,  was  with  him 
at  all  other  times.  Then  when  we  fell  in  I  heard 
a  fellow  from  another  squad  call  David  Lucy. 
That  was  Randall's  doing.  Presently  it  will  be 
all  up  and  down  the  street.    But  Randall  will  be 


AT  PLATTSBURG  25 

the  only  one  to  have  any  feeling  about  it.  With 
the  others  now  it  is  a  matter  of  course,  even  with 
David  himself. 

Our  morning's  work  began  on  the  drill-field, 
with  its  open  drainage  trenches  yawning  for  our 
feet  and  its  scattered  moimds  to  stumble  on. 
Gay  work,  this  learning  to  walk  in  the  right 
place,  stand  in  the  right  way,  toss  your  nine 
poimd  rifle  about  as  if  it  were  a  straw,  and  all 
with  but  a  moment  or  two  for  thought  between 
the  first  order  and  the  second.  Even  Pickle  was 
silent  this  morning,  intent  like  the  rest  of  us  on 
his  job.  We  are  all  so  green  that,  except  for  the 
occasional  old-timer,  no  one  was  giving  his  neigh- 
bor any  advice. 

Then  on  a  sudden  we  were  tested.  "All  who 
have  had  any  previous  experience"  were  required 
to  step  one  pace  to  the  front.  There  were  not 
many  of  them.  Then  "aU  who  wish  to  be  cor- 
poral," or  words  to  that  effect.  With  about  half 
the  company  I  took  the  forward  pace.  The  lieu- 
tenant separated  these  goats  from  the  humbler 
sheep,  sent  us  under  a  sergeant  to  another  part  of 
the  field,  and  himseK  took  charge  of  the  remainder. 
The  sergeant  divided  us  up  into  twos  and  set  us 
by  turns  to  drilling  each  other,  evidently  to  test 
our  knowledge  and  our  ability  to  give  commands. 

Pickle  was  my  victim,  or  I  was  his.  We  eyed 
each  other  doubtfully.  "You  begin,"  said  I. 
"No,  you,"  retorted  he.  "  Gee,  what  a  gink  I  was 
to  think  I  wanted  to  be  corporal !"    So  I  tackled 


26  AT  PLATTSBURG 

the  job;  and  of  course,  not  being  used  to  it,  I  made 
long  pauses  between  the  commands,  gave  them 
wrong,  could  not  assume  a  proper  miHtary  ac- 
cent. It's  not  so  easy.  I  have  heard,  in  the  ar- 
mory at  Boston,  a  militia  captain  {captain,  miad 
you!)  give  the  command  "Attention!"  in  three 
different  ways,  continually  experimenting.  So 
how  could  I,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  rap  out 
my  orders  like  a  veteran?  What  we  had  to  do 
was  absurdly  simple;  but  poor  Pickle,  when  I 
balked,  succeeded  no  better  than  I,  so  finally  we 
fell  to  consulting  each  other  about  it  and  became 
idle,  like  other  groups  that  we  saw.  Then  came 
our  way  another  pair,  who  being  as  experienced 
as  we  are  green,  speedily  took  us  in  charge  and 
manhandled  us  almost  as  skilfully  as  the  Heuten- 
ant.  I  presently  saw  our  West  Pointer  observ- 
ing the  drilling  groups,  and  with  him  another 
with  two  bars  on  his  collar,  the  same  erectness, 
and  the  same  natural  air  of  knowing  his  business. 
The  two  were  like  farmers  judging  cattle,  dis- 
posing of  each  one  with  swiftness,  taking  rapid 
notes,  and  then  herding  us  together  into  our 
original  ranks  for  a  final  shaking  down.  The 
captain  disappeared,  but  I  hoped  he  was  to  be 
ours,  for  though  I  had  had  but  sidewise  gHmpses 
of  him,  there  seemed  a  fine  frank  openness  about 
him  that  I  liked. 

Sure  enough,  in  the  afternoon  he  appeared 
in  this  wise.  The  company  was  assembled  and 
marched  out  onto  the  highway,  where  we  stood 


AT  PLATTSBURG  27 

in  double  rank  with  our  hats  off,  for  a  final  sizing 
up.  I  heard  a  new  voice,  deep  and  powerful,  at 
the  further  end  of  the  line;  then  along  he  came 
with  the  lieutenant,  rapidly  sizing  us  up,  counting 
us  off,  thrusting  in  a  new  man  here  and  there, 
the  new  men  to  be  our  corporals.  Randall  dis- 
appeared into  another  squad,  and  we  have  now 
as  corporal  one  of  those  two  who  drilled  Pickle 
and  me  this  morning.  There  are  these  others 
of  us:  Pickle,  Corder,  Knudsen,  Lucy,  Clay,  a 
handsome  young  Southern  medical  student,  and 
Reardon,  a  grocer's  clerk  from  a  Httle  town  in 
Connecticut.  Our  corporal  is  Bannister,  manager 
of  the  routing  department,  whatever  that  may 
be,  of  a  tool-making  establishment  near  Detroit. 
For  a  mixed  crowd,  of  ages  from  grizzled  Corder 
down  to  the  very  new  graduate,  what  could  be 
better?  The  captain,  having  put  us  all  in  place, 
called  us  to  attention  without  any  fuss,  and 
stated  that  the  new  Number  Four  men  were  to 
be  our  squad  leaders  "imtil  such  time  as  other 
men  proved  themselves  to  be  better. — So  go  to 
it,"  he  added  grimly.  Then  he  marched  us  back 
to  the  street,  where  the  tents  were  all  freshly 
numbered  with  chalk,  and  dismissed  us  to  put 
our  beds  in  the  proper  order. 

Since  military  regulations  cover  the  positions 
of  beds  in  the  tent,  almost  every  man  had  to  shift 
his  place.  A  genius  discovered  that  this  was  a 
good  time  to  begin  with  a  level  floor,  the  idea  ran 
rapidly  from  squad  to  squad,  and  presently  the 


28  AT  PLATTSBURG 

street  was  filled  with  piled  cots  and  heaped  bag- 
gage, while  from  each  door  came  clouds  of  dust. 
Our  floor  levelled,  taking  care  to  preserve  the 
pitch  of  the  ridge  that  nms  through  it,  we  moved 
in  again,  even  before  the  dust  was  settled.  As  I 
am  Number  One  of  our  front  rank,  I  bunk  to  the 
left  of  the  door;  peer  around  the  opening,  and 
you  will  see  my  feet.  Our  rifles  and  bayonets  we 
keep  in  a  gim  rack  that  leans  against  the  tripod 
of  the  tent-pole;  and  our  surplus  clothes  we  hang 
from  a  square  frame  that  is  suspended  higher 
up.  These  two  conveniences  are  squad  prop- 
erty, being  bought  at  a  dollar  each  from  a  Jewish- 
looking  gentleman  who  offered  them  for  sale, 
their  evident  usefulness  forcing  the  bargain.  As 
they  are  most  roughly  built  of  light  lumber,  and 
have  plainly  served  in  each  of  the  previous  camps 
this  year,  there  is  good  profit  to  the  speculators 
who  supplied  them  in  the  first  place,  and  who 
gather  them  up  when  they  are  abandoned  at  the 
breaking  up  of  each  camp,  only  to  sell  them 
again.  The  tax  on  the  squad  is  not  great,  but  I 
wonder  why  the  camp  management  allows  out- 
siders such  princely  takings. 

Feeling  energetic,  I  began  digging  out  the  old 
ditch  that  surrounds  our  tent,  to  make  it  better 
able  to  carry  off  water  in  the  next  storm.  Ejiud- 
sen  insisted  on  doing  his  share,  then  Corder  took 
the  spade  from  him  for  the  next  side.  When 
Pickle,  who  was  standing  ready,  said  "  You  don't 
need  to  work,"  Corder  asked  plaintively,  "Do 


AT  PLATTSBURG  29 

I  seem  as  old  as  that?"  So  he  was  allowed  to  do 
his  stint.    Lucy  placidly  watched  us. 

Then,  it  being  yet  early  afternoon,  the  typhoid 
candidates,  more  than  half  the  company,  were 
gathered  up  and  taken  away  to  be  punctured. 
The  small  remainder  of  us  were  taken  to  the  drill 
field  and  were  delivered  to  the  sergeants,  appar- 
ently that  they  might  show  their  mettle  in  the 
presence  of  the  ofiicers.  Now  you  know  that 
every  calling  has  its  tests  of  a  man;  in  this  soldier 
business  the  first  lies  in  the  ability  to  stand  up 
and  give  your  orders  with  such  confidence  in 
yourseK  that  your  men  shall  feel  confidence  in 
you.  There  were  two  of  the  sergeants  that  I 
noticed  for  their  difference  in  this  respect.  The 
one  was  sunburned,  tall,  and  lean;  his  brows 
jutted,  his  eyes  under  them  were  steady  and 
sharp,  his  shoulders  were  square,  and  he  had  a 
very  firm  pair  of  bow-legs,  which  in  some  men 
is  not  displeasing.  He  knew  his  job;  his  voice 
rolled  like  the  deep  notes  of  an  organ;  we  knew 
what  he  meant  for  us  to  do,  and  we  did  it.  The 
other  man  was  narrow  and  chicken-breasted,  his 
long  legs  weak,  his  smile  a  smirk,  his  pronuncia- 
tion so  affected  that  we  disgraced  him  because 
we  blimdered  from  piure  lack  of  comprehension. 
Why  is  it  that  men's  outsides  so  often  correspond 
to  their  innards  ?  And  how  did  the  latter  of  these 
two  get  his  job?  I  suppose  he  has  done  some 
service  to  warrant  his  sergeant's  stripes. 

Corder  and  I  went  to  the  lake  to  swim.    He 


30  AT  PLATTSBURG 

interests  me  by  the  careful  study  of  his  condition; 
is  afraid  that  some  sign  of  old  age  will  develop 
to  send  him  away,  and  is  almost  boyishly  pleased 
to  find  himself  able  to  do  all  the  work.  "And  I 
hope,"  said  he,  "that  I  shall  learn  to  stand 
straighter.  One  feels  a  certaia  pride  when  in 
uniform,  and  I  try  to  fill  miQe  out,  if  only  to  escape 
hearing  some  youngster  say,  'Gee,  get  onto  that 
hollow-chested  professor  chap  as  a  rookie ! '  But 
it's  hard  to  keep  straight."  The  prime  of  life,  he 
said  to  me  again,  isn't  so  very  prime. 

When  we  came  back  the  street  was  full  of  in- 
valids. Army  serum  must  work  quick,  for  half 
the  arms  of  the  inoculees  were  lame,  and  when 
I  thoughtlessly  touched  Pickle  on  the  shoulder 
he  howled.  "The  guy  that  coimted  out  my  haK 
billion  bugs,"  said  he,  "must  have  thrown  in  an 
extra  hundred  thousand  for  good  measure.  And 
they're  all  working  overtime."  At  Retreat  there 
was  some  diflSculty  in  coaxing  arms  into  blouses, 
and  a  number  of  men  asked  to  be  excused  from 
evening  duties  for  the  sole  purpose  of  lying  upo» 
their  couches  and  staring  at  the  canvas. 

The  rest  of  us  marched  to  our  first  conference, 
on  the  slope  of  the  drill  field  below  the  furthest 
mess-shacks,  where  we  were  massed  in  a  semi- 
circle. It  was  an  interesting  sight,  a  thousand 
men  in  olive-drab  slowly  blending  with  their  back- 
groxmd  as  the  dusk  grew,  yet  with  the  faces  of 
most  of  them  showing  up  in  the  coming  moon- 
light.   Behind  the  speaker  were  the  lake  and  the 


AT  PLATTSBURG  31 

mountains,  with  the  moon  just  beginning  to 
glimmer  on  the  little  waves.  It  was  the  General 
himself  who  addressed  us,  welcoming  us,  speaking 
briefly  of  the  purpose  of  our  coming,  expressing 
confidence  that  we  would  work  as  hard  as  our 
predecessors:  a  fine  man-to-man  address.  I  could 
not  help  thinking  of  a  German  general  that  I 
once  heard  speak  to  Einjaehriger — stiff,  short, 
and  unapproachable.  Wood  was  stimulating,  and 
made  us  readier  for  owe  duties. 

The  moon  was  brighter  when  we  got  back  to 
the  company  street,  and  someone  had  lighted  a 
fire  at  its  head.  Here  a  hundred  of  us,  including 
some  of  the  invalids,  packed  together  in  a  circle 
around  our  new  captain,  while  he  spoke  to  us 
briefly.  I  had  a  good  view  of  him.  Shorter  than 
the  lieutenant,  yet  still  a  tall  man,  very  strongly 
made,  he  spoke,  like  the  general,  as  man  to  man, 
and  the  least  thing  he  appeared  to  expect  was  any 
difficulty  with  us.  He  told  us  that  the  work  was 
hard  and  tiresome;  he  would  make  it  as  easy  as 
possible,  but  he  knew  we  were  there  to  work,  and 
we  could  depend  on  him  (without  a  twinkle)  to 
give  us  everything  that  was  coming  to  us.  His 
tent  was  right  at  the  head  of  the  street;  he  wanted 
us  to  come  to  him  at  any  time  for  any  question; 
it  was  his  business  (and  again  no  twinkle)  to 
make  our  minds  as  well  as  our  bodies  comfortable. 
Thus  I  get  the  impression  that  he  is  something  of 
a  humorist,  yet  also  that  his  chief  trait  is  aggres- 
siveness.    I  cannot  tell  you  why,  for  all  was 


32  AT  PLATTSBURG 

spoken  with  a  quiet  voice,  even  with  a  certain 
gentleness  that  disguises  what  I  am  sure  is  the 
basic  character  of  the  man.  Knudsen  felt  it  too, 
for  as  we  walked  away  from  the  conference  he 
said:  "The  captain's  a  scrapper." 

"He's  a  Southerner,"  said  Clay  with  satisfac- 
tion.   It  had  been  plain  in  his  accent. 

This  letter,  begun  Saturday  night,  I  finish 
Sunday  morning.  Send  me,  please,  a  dozen 
clothes  piQS,  to  keep  my  washing  on  the  tent- 
ropes.  Pickle  hung  up  his  wet  towel  today,  and 
had  to  chase  it  into  the  next  company  street. 
As  everywhere  is  the  same  black  sand,  you  can 
imagine  its  condition,  likewise  that  of  a  moist 
cake  of  soap  when  you  accidentally  drop  it — 
excellent  for  scouring,  but  not  good  for  other 
cleaning  purposes  until  its  new  covering  is  dis- 
solved away.  Send  me  also  some  paper  napkins 
folded;  the  supply  at  the  mess-shacks  sometimes 
gives  out. 

A  bit  of  character.  Lucy  was  looking  this 
morning  rather  helplessly  at  his  silk  pajamas, 
and  wondering  where  he  could  get  them  washed, 
when  there  entered  the  tent  a  handsome  and 
stalwart  regular.  "Washing?"  he  inquired  re- 
spectfully. "Oh,"  asked  Lucy  hopefully,  "are 
you  an  agent  for  some  laundress?"  "No,"  said 
the  man,  "I  wash  them  myseK.  I  guarantee 
to  return  everything  tomorrow,  properly  done." 
The  boy  was  not  merely  surprised,  but  almost 
shocked.    ^'You  do  the  work?"  he  asked.    Then 


AT  PLATTSBURG  33 

his  native  kindness  came  to  his  aid,  and  he  was 
about  to  bundle  all  his  clothes  into  the  fellow's 
hands,  when  Knudsen  said,  quietly  but  very 
pointedly,  "When  I'm  here  at  camp  I  wash  my 
own  clothes."  David  flushed  quite  pink.  "Then 
I  think  I'll  do  the  same." 

"It's  good  for  him,"  said  Knudsen  to  me  after- 
ward. "It's  good  for  him  to  be  called  Lucy. 
It's  good  for  him  to  learn  to  shave  himself  with 
that  razor.  I  was  going  to  tell  him  to  buy 
himself  a  safety  razor,  but  thought  I'd  better 
not." 

I'm  glad  I  left  David  to  find  his  own  nurse. 
Knudsen  manages  him  with  certainty.  On  the 
other  hand  the  boy  likes  him  immensely,  even 
though  the  taciturn  Swede  does  but  a  small 
share  of  the  talking  when  they  are  together.  He 
is  a  foundryman,  had  a  hard  struggle  to  estab- 
lish his  growing  business,  and  has  in  consequence 
a  fierce  outlook  on  the  world,  as  one  who  at  any 
time  may  have  to  fight  for  his  own.  David, 
by  persistent  but  most  tactful  questioning,  has 
brought  out  two  salient  facts  in  his  biography. 
Knudsen  is  first  the  son  of  an  immigrant,  talks 
Swedish  in  his  home,  has  none  of  the  American 
background  which  to  David  is  a  man's  birthright. 
And  second  he  is  a  college  man,  from  Hobart. 
Over  these  two  facts  the  boy  is  sadly  perplexed. 
Legally,  Knudsen  is  as  American  as  the  rest  of  us 
— ^but  can  he  be?  Socially  he  is  also  all  right, 
since  he  is  a  college  man — ^but  after  all  can  you 


34  AT  PLATTSBURG 

call  Hobart  a  college  ?    Don't  blame  David.    It's 
not  his  fault  if  he's  narrow-minded. 

I  shall  close  and  mail  this  letter  now,  and  at 
the  first  convenient  opportimity  shall  begin  the 
next.  I  foresee  that  my  letters  to  you  will  be 
practically  a  continuous  performance.    Love  from 

Dick. 


From  Private  Samuel  Pickle  to  His  Brother 

Plaitsburg  Training  Camp. 
Sunday,  Sept.  lo,  igi6. 

Say,  Tony,  what  a  mutt  I  was  not  to  get  my- 
seK  jabbed  for  typhoid  before  I  came  here!  It 
would  have  been  worth  the  money.  Today  my 
arm  feels  like  a  hornet's  nest,  with  roots  up  into 
my  shoulder  and  down  my  ribs.  And  my  head 
is  light  and  wavy — that's  fever.  I  saw  one  guy 
keel  over  stiff  when  the  doctor  stuck  him,  and  the 
poor  corp  of  our  squad  says  he'd  swap  jobs  with 
his  rear-rank  man  if  he  could  only  feel  like  a  boy 
again. 

They  feed  you  here  with  food  that's  like  our- 
selves, coarse  and  plentiful.  I'll  never  again  call 
sister's  doughnuts  sinkers;  wish  I  could  see  any 
kind  of  a  doughnut.  The  table  china  is  dehcate 
French — ^nit.  The  waiters  are  in  livery.  The 
man  with  a  long  reach  will  grow  fat  while  others 
starve.  Take  care  not  to  spill  anything;  it  may 
fall  into  your  hat  that  hangs  under  the  table. 
Iced  tea  should  be  iced  and  should  be  tea;  milk 
should  be  milk.  When  you  see  a  thing  that  you 
want,  ask  for  it;  the  platter  wiU  get  to  you  even 
if  the  food  don't.  Elbows  on  the  table  are  com- 
fort but  bad  form,  same  as  at  home.  The  men  that 
stay  longest  at  table  take  pains  to  tell  you  that 
they  eat  slow.     Eat  first  whatever  is  handiest 

35 


36  AT  PLATTSBURG 

when  you  sit  down;  why  be  idle  while  your  soup 
is  coming? 

It's  considered  impolite  to  drink  at  the  com- 
pany spigot,  but  there's  no  rule  against  cleaning 
your  teeth  there.  The  best  way  to  rinse  your 
stocking  after  soaping  is  to  hold  it  over  the  nozzle 
like  a  bag,  and  squeeze  it  while  the  water  runs 
through.  It  takes  so  long  to  get  hot  water  here 
that  you'd  better  learn  to  shave  with  cold.  I 
never  before  made  my  toilet  out  on  the  sidewalk, 
but  a  fellow  can  get  used  to  anything. 

You  may  talk  of  being  chambermaid  to  a  cow, 
but  it's  worse  being  groom  to  a  gun.  These 
rifles  have  been  in  use  all  summer,  and  they're 
all  et  up  inside.  They're  like  fat  men,  they  sweat. 
Then  they  rust.  Put  in  some  dope  and  swab  the 
barrel,  then  take  twenty-five  dinky  little  squares 
of  cotton  flannel  and  run  them  through,  and  the 
last  will  be  just  as  dirty  as  the  first.  Let  it  go 
at  that,  and  put  in  some  oil,  and  say  Damn. 

It  takes  three  lacings  below  the  knee  to  get 
yourself  dressed,  and  three  unlacings  to  get  to 
bed,  imless  you  want  to  be  a  real  soldier  boy, 
and  sleep  in  your  clothes.  And  only  two  hooks  in 
aU  these  lacings — the  rest  eyelets,  eyelets.  The 
cartridge  belt  has  ten  pockets;  I  found  a  clip  of 
blanks  in  mine,  and  am  keeping  it  to  celebrate 
with.  The  proper  way  to  draw  your  bayonet  is 
not  to  cut  your  ear  off.  They  tell  me  it's  been 
done.  The  outfitter  lied  to  me.  He  sold  me  a 
tight  blouse  because  we  wore  our  sweaters  over 


AT  PLATTSBURG  37 

them,  and  here  it's  against  the  rule  and  my 
sweater  will  never  go  imder  the  blouse  and  I'll 
freeze  to  death.  Never  believe  anybody  that 
says  he  knows. 

When  the  horn  blows  pay  no  attention.  It's 
the  top  sergeant's  whistle  you've  got  to  jump  for. 
If  you  want  to  know  what  to  wear  don't  ask  him; 
the  lieutenant  will  change  the  order  and  the  cap- 
tain will  change  it  again.  Ask  the  major,  unless 
the  general  happens  by.  Always  salute  unless 
you  happen  to  be  smoking;  if  you  have  a  pipe  in 
your  mouth,  don't  see  him.    Fall  River ! 

Sam. 


Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Sunday  eveningj  Sep.  lOth,  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

I  had  no  sooner  closed  this  morning's  addenda 
than  I  had  to  prepare  for  the  bugaboo  of  tent 
inspection.  A  good  bugaboo,  of  course,  as  at 
home  it  always  pays  to  have  visitors,  we  redd  up 
the  house  so  carefully.  Our  job  this  morning 
was  not  only  to  have  the  tent  perfectly  neat, 
but  also  to  have  our  kits  laid  out  on  our  beds 
according  to  regulations.  One  blanket  was 
spread  over  the  cot,  the  others  were  folded  at 
the  head,  and  on  them  the  sweater  and  pillow. 
At  the  foot  were  folded  the  poncho  and  shelter 
half;  then  all  the  equipment  was  spread  out. 
Under  the  head  of  the  bed  was  the  blue  barrack- 
bag  and  the  suit-case;  under  the  foot  the  shoes. 
Then  we  stood  in  line  in  front  of  the  tent,  and 
watched  while  the  lieutenant,  coming  from  tent 
to  tent,  left  each  squad  in  a  state  of  despair  be- 
hind him.  To  cheer  us,  someone  at  the  ser- 
geants' tent  started  a  victrola,  but  a  snap  from 
the  lieutenant  ended  that  diversion.  Result  of  it 
all:  we  were  told  to  inspect  a  certain  bed  in  Tent 
One,  fold  our  blankets  and  ponchos  right,  and  lay 
out  our  equipment  according  to  a  sacredly  pre- 
scribed order.  A  meek  procession  filed  in  and 
out  of  the  tent  for  the  next  half  hour. 

38 


AT  PLATTSBURG  39 

It  appears  that  blankets  must  be  folded  in  a 
certain  manner  and  laid  in  a  certain  way,  so  that 
the  inspector  can  see  at  a  glance  whether  the 
proper  number  of  them  is  present — that  none  are 
in  hock,  I  suppose.  The  manner  of  folding  in- 
geniously insiures  that  on  making  the  bed  at 
night  the  blankets  must  first  be  entirely  shaken 
out;  ditto  in  the  morning.  Some  sanitary  mar- 
tinet evolved  that  scheme.  We  are  told  that  a 
fourth  blanket  will  be  served  out  to  us.  Folded 
double  lengthwise,  four  will  allow  seven  thick- 
nesses over  us  and  one  below,  or  any  other  pro- 
portion, according  to  the  temperature.  Sleeping 
as  I  do  with  the  tent  wall  looped  up,  I  shall  be 
glad  of  the  seven  thicknesses. 

Cleanliness  being  next  to  godliness,  many  of 
the  men  washed  clothes  instead  of  going  to  church. 
A  little  daily  washing  in  this  fair  weather  keeps 
a  wardrobe  always  ready  for  service.  It's  simple 
if  you  combine  your  laundry  work  with  your 
swim. 

Bannister,  our  corporal,  got  us  out  on  the  drill 
field  this  afternoon  for  squad  practice.  But  as 
even  he  is  new  to  many  of  our  evolutions,  instead 
of  monarchy  we  found  democracy,  so  many  of  us 
had  something  to  say.  Part  of  the  time  Knudsen 
gently  but  firmly  managed  the  squad;  we  taught 
each  other  how  to  stack  arms;  and  finally  from 
one  argument  we  could  only  be  rescued  by  appeal 
to  the  drill  regulations.  We  knelt  around  the 
little  blue  book,  while  the  opponents  of  two  ap- 


40  AT  PLATTSBURG 

parently  conflicting  ideas  eagerly  debated,  until 
of  a  sudden  each  saw  the  other's  point,  and  dis- 
covered that  they  meant  the  same  thing. 

Coming  back,  we  found  ourselves  heading 
obliquely  toward  the  company  street,  with  a  half 
turn  to  make  in  order  to  enter  it  properly.  Cor- 
der  suggested  that  the  command  should  be 
"Left  haK  turn,"  but  Reardon  contended  for 
"Half  left,"  and  at  the  proper  moment  the  cor- 
poral gave  that  order.  Naturally  there  ensued 
at  the  tent  another  debate,  everyone  putting  in 
his  oar,  until  by  the  book  the  Old  One  proved 
that  while  for  a  company  in  column  the  conmaand 
should  have  been  "Column  half  left,"  for  a  squad 
"Left  half  turn"  was  correct.  A  mixing  busi- 
ness, this  learning  how  to  fight  for  one's  country. 

Said  I  to  Corder,  "You'll  take  Bannister's  job 
away  from  him  if  he  doesn't  look  out."  He 
laughed.  "No,"  said  he.  "I  like  to  admire  the 
scenery  rather  than  attend  to  business,  and  I'm  a 
dreamer  anyway.  But  watch  Knudsen.  He's  a 
soldier  type,  and  imless  I'm  mistaken  he's  had 
some  training,  though  he  doesn't  claim  it." 

Word  has  gone  forth  that  we  are  to  go  through 
the  drill  regulations  at  the  rate  of  some  forty 
paragraphs  a  day.  So  there  is  much  study  up 
and  down  the  street,  and  that  not  merely  on  the 
part  of  would-be  corporals. 

This  letter  is  finished  imder  difficulties,  for  the 
lantern  goes  out  every  few  minutes,  as  four  of 
us  cluster  around  it  with  our  pens  and  paper. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  41 

A  puflf,  a  pop,  a  flicker  or  two,  and  it's  out. 
Then  laughter,  curses,  two  or  three  failures  to 
light  the  wick,  and  we're  off  again  for  another 
short  spell.  Clay  promises  that  we  shall  have  no 
trouble  with  the  lantern  after  tonight.  Some 
squads  have  clubbed  together  to  buy  acetylene 
lanterns,  which  illuminate  the  tents  most  bril- 
liantly; but  the  cost  is  seven  dollars,  and  though 
our  squad  has  mentioned  the  luxury,  it  is  evident 
that  most  of  the  men  wish  to  avoid  the  extra 
expense.  Though  of  course  I  could  buy  the  thing 
as  a  present  to  the  squad,  I  think  it  would  rather 
mar  our  present  feeling  of  equality.  Moreover, 
there  was  a  trifle  of  an  explosion  in  Tent  13  early 
this  evening,  after  which  the  new  lantern  was 
thrown  away  as  junk.  If  I  should  come  again,  I 
should  bring  some  compact  Hghting  contraption. 
Meanwhile  the  Httle  flashlight  is  good  for  searching 
in  one's  suit  case,  and  there  is  always  a  table  and 
electric  light  at  the  company  tent,  close  by  the 
captain's. 
Good-by,  with  love  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Monday,  Sept.  ii,  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

I  began  my  day  with  my  usual  bucket  from  the 
tap;  there  are  always  early  birds  to  serve  me,  and 
my  helper  this  morning  said  it  made  him  feel 
virtuous  just  to  souse  me.  I  prefer  this  to  the 
shower  baths,  which  are  much  further  away.  A 
very  few  go  early  to  the  lake  and  make  parade  of 
it;  said  one  to  his  corporal  yesterday,  finding  him 
crawling  from  his  bed  into  his  clothes,  "  My  Gk)d, 
man,  don't  you  ever  bathe?"  But  the  poor  cor- 
poral was  still  shaking  with  his  typhoid. 

Clay,  who  was  up  early  on  mysterious  errands 
in  the  dusk,  has  just  brought  in  boards  to  lay  in 
front  of  his  cot.  Reardon  asked,  "  What  are  you 
going  to  do  on  the  hike?  You'll  have  to  put 
your  feet  on  the  groimd."  But  Clay  evidently 
likes  a  bit  of  luxury,  and  when  he  gave  me  his 
surplus  boards  I  foimd  I  liked  it  too,  for  I  prefer 
keeping  my  feet  out  of  this  sand,  which  has  a 
creeping  quaHty  and  gets  everywhere.  Out  in 
front  of  the  tent  there  had  appeared  a  bench. 
"Hi!"  cried  Bannister,  "where  did  that  come 
from?"  Clay  said  nothing,  and  Bannister,  who 
appreciated  the  new  convenience,  thought  it  best 
to  ask  no  more.  I,  with  a  mind  on  further  con- 
veniences, suggested  that  we  club  together  for  a 
bucket  for  our  washing.    Clay  offered  to  get  this 

42 


AT  PLATTSBURG  43 

without  cost,  but  late  in  the  afternoon  reported 
failure.  "I  couldn't  get  one,  though  I  looked  in 
every  tent  in  the  other  companies."  Then  he 
missed  our  new  bench.  "Where  has  it  gone?" 
he  demanded.  Corder  answered  dryly,  "Back  to 
its  original  owners,  I  suppose."  But  the  lantern 
works  better  tonight,  as  the  fellows  all  remark, 
avoidiQg  mention  of  the  fact  that  it  has  a  some- 
what different  shape. 

This  morning  we  had  our  first  drill  in  calis- 
thenics. We  were  spaced  in  very  open  order, 
advised  to  take  off  our  shirts,  and  Captain 
Wheeler,  a  magnificent  figure  of  a  man,  strong 
as  an  oak  in  spite  of  his  gray  hair,  stood  on 
a  platform  and  put  us  through  exercises  that 
searched  out,  so  the  boys  agreed,  muscles  that 
you  didn't  know  you  had.  You  get  a  new  idea 
of  the  "position  of  a  soldier"  after  he  has  shown 
it  to  you.  "Oh,  no,  no,  no !"  he  cried  when  first 
we  came  to  attention  at  his  command,  his  voice 
rolling  away  over  the  lake  into  infinite  distance. 
And  then  he  made  us  try  to  show  that  we  were 
proud  of  our  imiforms. 

This  afternoon's  platoon  drill,  under  our  lieu- 
tenant, made  me  very  sure  that,  though  I  already 
feel  as  if  I  had  been  here  for  weeks,  I  am  not  yet 
master  of  my  work.  The  drill  kept  me  thinking. 
As  it  is  no  pleasure  to  be  pubHcly  called  down,  I 
am  all  the  while  trying  to  make  no  mistakes.  A 
fellow  must  instantly — instantly! — ^know  the  dif- 
ference between  "Platoon  right,"  for  instance, 


44  AT  PLATTSBURG 

and  "Right  by  squads,"  even  though  the  com- 
mands may  not  have  been  given  for  an  hour. 
And  one  must  know  it  whether  corporal  or  not, 
for  half  the  time  the  corporals  do  not  yet  know  it 
themselves,  and  either  mumble  their  commands 
or  are  silent,  so  that  they  are  no  help.  And  even 
if  a  fellow  knows  what  to  do,  but  lags  in  the 
doing  of  it,  then  he  is  likely  to  put  the  whole  line 
out.  Further,  freight  trains  rumble  by  at  the 
bottom  of  the  drill  field,  the  wind  whistles  in 
your  ears,  other  officers  near  at  hand  are  shouting 
commands  to  other  platoons,  and  so  you  are 
likely  not  to  hear  a  command  at  all.  But  on  the 
whole  I  think  I  am  improving. 

The  short  time  that  we  had  with  the  captain 
was  enough  to  prove  that  he  is,  as  Clay  claimed, 
a  Southerner,  if  only  from  his  use  of  the  word 
like.  As  we  came  down  from  the  right  shoulder, 
he  said,  "Don't  climb  your  rifle  lahk  it  was  a 
rope."  And  at  Present  Arms,  "That  man  is 
holding  up  his  piece  lahk  it  was  a  Christmas 
tree."  "Swing  your  arms,"  said  he,  "lahk  you 
were  proud  of  yo'selves!"  Other  little  localisms 
slip  in.  When  a  man  had  explained  a  question 
that  the  captain  at  first  did  not  imderstand,  he 
said  when  he  grasped  it,  "Oh,  Ah  see;  Ah  didn't 
locate  yo'."  But  it  is  a  pity  to  misspell  so  broadly. 
The  differences  of  accent,  though  evident,  are 
slight  and  pleasing,  even  musical. 

Love  from, 

Dick. 


From  Erasmus  Corder,  Assistant  Professor 
IN  Harvard  University,  to  His  Wife 

Plattshurg,  Monday,  Sept.  il. 

My  dear  Priscilla: — 

You  will  want  to  know,  now  that  I  have  shaken 
down  into  this  life,  how  on  the  whole  it  suits  me. 
I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  here  a  fortnight,  such  being 
the  power  of  routine.  You  know  I  am  among 
perfect  strangers,  for  though  Nelson  is  in  my  com- 
pany, I  see  very  little  of  him.  We  actually  have 
not  looked  each  other  up  since  Saturday.  And 
though  Watson  of  the  Philosophy  department  and 
Jones  of  the  Library  staff  are  both  here,  they  are 
in  other  companies,  and  the  best  I  have  done  is 
to  pay  each  of  them  a  hurried  call.  The  real  life 
is  the  life  of  the  squad,  and  I  find  myself  among 
interesting  fellows. 

The  work  is  not  too  hard,  for  the  officers  give 
us  periods  of  rest,  and  we  are  gradually  harden- 
ing up.  I  live  very  cautiously,  always  change  my 
stockings  and  rest  my  feet  whenever  I  come  off 
the  drill-field,  and  whenever  I  can  I  lie  down  for  a 
nap.  But  I  am  getting  so  lively  that  I  find  my- 
self tempted  to  ignore  these  precautions,  and  hope 
that  before  long  I  can  take  not  only  the  work  but 
the  fun  as  it  comes.  The  excellent  stockings  which 
you  knit  for  me  are  not  too  heavy  nor  too  hot; 
you  were  wise  to  mark  every  thing  that  I  wear, 
as  in  this  camp  articles  of  clothing  very  much  re- 

45 


46  AT  PLATTSBURG 

semble  one  another.  My  sewing  kit,  with  all  its 
threaded  needles,  called  out  the  wonder  of  the 
corporal  the  other  day,  and  the  whole  squad 
stood  around  and  admired  it. 

I  hope  in  time  to  attain  a  more  military  car- 
riage, but  it  is  a  hard  fight  with  habit.  I  wish 
I  were  as  springy  as  these  boys  around  me;  even 
as  I  work  the  fat  out  of  my  bacon,  I  don't  find 
myself  perfectly  elastic.  For  I  get  a  bit  stiff  in 
the  knees  from  long  standing  at  the  manual; 
and  as  the  evening  chiU  comes  on  I  find  it  gets 
more  into  my  joints  than  I  like.  And  so  I  am 
watching  the  development  of  a  problem  with 
which  I,  that  is,  my  mind,  can  have  very  Httle 
to  do.  Question:  shall  I  get  stiff er  as  the  days 
grow  colder,  imtil  on  the  hike  they  will  discharge 
me  as  an  old  man;  or  will  it  all  work  off  as  I  get 
used  to  the  exercise,  until  I  am  limber?  It  is 
really  a  very  serious  matter,  my  dear,  this  being 
forty-five  years  old.  One  should  turn  life  into 
a  profession,  and  study  how  to  become  young. 
There  are  a  number  of  men  of  my  age  or  older 
here  at  camp,  and  I  find  we  all  have  this  same 
preoccupation,  and  very  eagerly  ask  each  other 
how  we  are  getting  on,  and  give  advice.  And 
the  hike — that  looms  ahead  of  us  all  as  an  ordeal 
which  we  are  afraid  we  shan't  pass. 

I  never  tire  of  the  view  from  our  drill  field. 
The  mountains  are  never  twice  the  same,  and  the 
lake  is  quite  as  changeable;  they  vary  their  as- 
pect every  hour  from  morning  to  evening.    We 


AT  PLATTSBURG  47 

are  lucky  just  now  in  our  full  moon,  to  light  us 
about  the  unaccustomed  streets.  In  contrast 
are  the  ugly  tents,  which  yet  have  a  romantic 
interest  in  their  possible  warlike  use,  and  in  their 
perfect  uniformity,  which  is  so  forbidding  that  it 
becomes  interesting.  And  for  one  who  has  come 
from  a  skirted  sea-side  resort,  it  is  not  impleasant 
to  see  around  me  nothing  but  men,  men,  men. 

Your  letters  make  me  feel  easy  about  the  fam- 
ily. We  are  very  lucky  that  Mildred  did  not  get 
a  bad  fall  when  the  handle  of  her  bicycle  broke. 
Tell  Florence  to  make  a  proper  distinction  be- 
tween to  and  too^  and  to  form  her  capital  Cs  more 
carefully.  Little  Elinor's  letters  are  much  ad- 
mired in  the  whole  tent.  It  must  be  about  time 
to  pick  the  Gravenstein  apples.  Tell  Robert  to 
handle  them  as  if  they  were  eggs. 

You  see  I  am  well.  Do  not  worry  about  me. 
Love  to  all  the  youngsters. 

Erasmus. 


Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Plattsburg,  Tuesday,  September  12. 

Dear  Mother: — 

Today  we  have  had  something  new.  We  have 
so  far  been  drilling  in  close  order  formation,  so 
called  because  we  always  maintain  our  front 
and  rear  ranks  together  as  such.  This  order  has 
two  purposes,  one  for  parade  and  review,  the 
other  for  quickest  marching  to  any  given  place. 
But  for  fighting,  which  after  all  is  our  real  pur- 
pose, the  close  order  must  be  discarded  in  favor 
of  extended  order,  which  you  will  understand 
better  if  I  call  it  skirmish  line  formation.  Here 
front  and  rear  rank  form  in  one  long  line,  in  order 
not  to  do  damage  to  each  other  in  firing. 

Our  drill  field  at  the  camp  distinctly  has  its 
drawbacks.  Across  part  of  it  are  open  drainage 
ditches;  and  another  part,  where  no  ditches  are, 
is  a  slippery  bog  after  any  rain.  Drilling  on  such 
a  field  distracts  you  between  the  natural  desire 
to  pick  your  footing,  and  the  officers'  constant 
command  to  keep  your  eyes  up.  We  are  told 
that  the  city  of  Plattsburg  is  very  generous  in 
providing  this  ground,  and  doubtless  it  was  to 
begin  with;  yet  I  wonder  if  after  two  very  pros- 
perous seasons,  due  to  our  presence  and  our  visit- 
ors', the  city  couldn't  afford  to  put  a  few  hundred 
dollars  (it  would  cost  no  more)  into  finishing  drain- 
ing the  field  with  tile,  and  filling  the  ditches  in. 

48 


AT  PLATTSBURG  49 

That  would  give  us  good  dry  ground  and  firm 
footing. 

At  any  rate,  it  was  a  relief  to  be  marched  this 
morning  to  the  military  post,  to  practice  our  new 
formations  on  its  great  smooth  field.  The  parade- 
groimd  is  a  wide  level  space  by  the  edge  of  the 
lake,  and  on  the  inner  side  is  a  long  row  of  the 
married  officers'  houses,  all  exactly  alike,  yet 
with  shrubs  and  vines  not  unhomelike.  I  saw 
three  children  at  one  place,  two  at  another,  plus 
two  nursemaids;  but  as  a  whole  the  houses  look 
deserted,  as  they  are.  For  all  our  regiments  of 
this  department  are  on  the  Mexican  border,  and 
while  papa  is  away  it  is  natural  for  mamma  to 
take  the  babies  to  visit  grandpa,  if  indeed  she 
doesn't  go  to  the  border  too.  As  a  consequence 
of  this  absence  of  the  infantry  regiments,  we  are 
ministered  to  here  by  some  companies  of  coast 
artillery,  which  are  useless  to  the  government  in 
this  crisis,  and  so  are  unwilliagly  serving  here 
as  cooks,  waiters,  and  equipment  orderHes.  Our 
officers  are  scraped  up  from  everywhere,  the  cap- 
tain of  my  company  even  coming  from  Panama. 
Unless  they  can  persuade  themselves  that  there 
is  to  be  no  more  fighting  in  Mexico,  they  must 
hate  to  settle  down  here  as  mere  missionaries  of 
the  preparedness  movement. 

Well,  we  were  taken  onto  the  field,  and  were 
given  our  first  dose  of  skirmish  drill.  The  cap- 
tain explained  how  the  squad  should  do  the  ex- 
panding movement  on  which  the  whole  is  based. 


50  AT  PLATTSBURG 

"Being  at  a  halt,"  as  the  regulations  are  fond  of 
saying,  the  corporal  takes  position  three  paces 
in  front  of  his  Number  Two  man,  extends  his 
arms  as  a  signal  or  gives  his  order,  and  the 
men  at  a  run  take  given  positions  on  a  line  with 
him.  A  corporal  and  his  squad  being  ordered  to 
illustrate  this  for  the  benefit  of  the  rest  of  us,  the 
corporal  forgot  to  stand  fast,  and  so  away  the 
eight  of  them  went,  heading  directly  for  the  lake, 
the  captain  watching  them  with  amusement,  the 
rest  of  us  snickering.  Over  the  edge  of  the  bluff 
they  went,  we  heard  crashes  in  the  bushes,  and 
presently,  when  the  rest  of  us  were  beginning 
our  demonstration,  we  saw  the  sheepish  return 
of  our  lost  squad.  No  one  in  our  company  will 
ever  now  forget  that  when  we  begin  our  deploy- 
ment at  a  halt,  we  advance  those  three  paces  and 
no  more. 

You  see  now  the  real  value  of  the  corporal. 
He  is  of  use  in  close  order  formation,  yet  there, 
with  a  little  drill,  the  company  could  get  along 
without  him.  But  in  extended  order  he  is  in 
independent  command  of  the  squad,  takes  his 
orders  from  his  superior,  translates  them  accord- 
ing to  circumstances,  and  separately  leads  his 
little  bunch  of  men  to  the  place  where  they  are 
to  deploy.  Moreover,  since  his  problem  varies 
according  as  we  are  marching  or  at  a  halt,  in  line 
or  in  column,  and  according  as  we  are  to  guide 
centre,  right,  or  left,  the  corporal  needs  (we 
proved  it  to-day)  to  have  a  cool  head  and  a  firm 


AT  PLATTSBURG  51 

hold  of  his  men.  In  one  case  we  go  forward,  in 
another  we  march  to  one  side  before  deploying, 
in  still  another  we  make  a  letter  S,  going  backward 
and  then  forward  again.  There  was  a  wonderful 
confusion  this  morning,  with  all  of  us  greenhorns 
trying  to  learn  this  new  work.  Moreover,  since 
we  are  volunteers,  and  men  of  intelligence,  and 
by  this  time  pretty  weU  acquainted,  every  man 
of  us  thought  he  imderstood  everything,  and 
was  bursting  to  tell  the  others  how  it  should  be 
done. 

And  then  began  to  appear  which  of  our  cor- 
porals were  corporals  indeed.  Some  squads  were 
little  Babels,  each  man  uttering  forth  his  voice, 
with  the  poor  squad-leader  either  vainly  trying 
to  make  himself  heard,  or  silently  trying  to  make 
his  own  ideas  square  with  the  contradictions  of 
the  other  seven.  Other  squads  may  have  been 
repressed  volcanoes,  but  still  they  were  repressed, 
with  the  corporal  making  his  mistakes  in  his  own 
way,  but  learning  by  blundering  how  the  thing 
should  be  done.  As  for  Squad  8,  Knudsen  was 
guarding  the  corporal's  peace  of  mind.  Once 
when  Bannister  had  mistaken  the  order,  and  I 
burst  out  with  a  whispered  "Too  far!"  Knudsen 
snapped  at  me,  "No  speaking  to  the  corporal!" 
Now  since  once  or  twice  he  had  given  advice, 
that  was  a  touch  too  much;  but  I  caught  a  sig- 
nificant twinkle  in  Corder's  eye,  and  held  my 
peace.  I  shan't  soon  forget  the  puzzled  expres- 
sion on  Bannister's  round,  honest  face  when  he 


52  AT  PLATTSBURG 

found  himself  many  yards  out  of  the  way,  and 
his  involuntary  "  Whoa !"  Then  Knudsen  quietly 
took  charge  of  us,  and  led  us  where  we  be- 
longed. 

"This  is  going  to  be  interesting, '^  whispered 
Corder  to  me.    "Remember  what  I  told  you." 

In  the  afternoon,  among  other  drill  work,  we 
were  taught  how  to  make  our  packs.  The 
strangely  shaped  piece  of  webbing  which  I  once 
tried  to  describe  to  you,  with  all  its  straps  and 
hooks,  is  a  haversack  worked  out  by  a  com- 
mission headed  by  a  Major  Stewart,  who  evolved 
this  Stewart  pack,  the  lightest  by  many  pounds  of 
any  army  pack  in  the  world.  Now  give  attention. 
On  the  ground  you  spread  your  poncho,  rubber 
side  downward.  On  it  you  lay  your  shelter-half  and 
fold  it  till  it  too  is  an  oblong,  smaller  than  the 
poncho.  Next  you  fold  one  blanket  thrice  and 
lay  it  with  its  stripe  lengthwise  of  the  poncho. 
Lay  on  it  your  tent-pegs,  rope,  bacon  box  and 
condiment  can,  a  change  of  underclothes,  your 
soap  and  razor,  tooth-brush  and  towel.  Lap 
over  it  the  edges  of  the  poncho  and  the  shelter- 
half.  Now  roll  this  from  the  blanket  end,  packing 
tightly;  and  when  you  approach  the  end  of  the 
poncho,  fold  eight  inches  of  it  toward  you,  and 
into  this  pocket  work  the  roll.  Thus  you  have 
made  a  tight  waterproof  sausage,  firmly  enough 
packed  to  be  thrown  about  without  coming  open. 
The  first  stage  of  making  your  pack  is  now  fin- 
ished. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  53 

The  roll  is  now,  by  means  only  to  be  learned  by 
actual  doing,  to  be  strapped  to  the  haversack, 
which  also  carries  the  bayonet  and,  in  its  big 
pocket,  the  meat-can,  knife,  fork,  and  spoon. 
The  pack  is  next,  by  its  compHcated  straps,  at- 
tached to  the  belt,  and  the  whole  is  put  on  like 
a  vest,  the  arms  through  its  broad  straps.  These 
should  be  so  tightened  that  the  top  of  the  pack 
comes  well  above  the  level  of  the  shoulders,  so 
that  the  straps  will  not  drag  and  cut.  The  belt  is 
buckled  in  front,  but  should  be  loose  enough  to 
hang  over  the  hips.  Thus  the  whole  weight  of 
the  pack  and  belt  is  carried  by  the  shoulders, 
which  are  braced  back  as  by  the  old-fashioned 
shoulder  brace,  leaving  the  chest  free  for  ex- 
pansion, and  carrying  no  weight. 

The  pack  weighs  about  eighteen  pounds,  the 
belt  (with  full  canteen  and  cartridge  pockets) 
another  eight,  the  rifle  nine.  Thirty-fiVe  poimds, 
for  light  marching  order,  is  much  less  than  any 
other  army  than  ours  is  blessed  with.  And  this 
outfit  is  to  be,  as  our  captain  grimly  remarked 
today,  our  constant  companions.  Oh  my  poor 
back! 

I  know  it  will  be  hard  to  read  this  letter,  my 
hand  shakes  so.  This  is  because  all  this  morning 
I  carried  my  rifle  "at  trail,"  which  means  that  I 
gripped  it  a  foot  from  the  muzzle  and  carried  it 
with  the  butt  just  off  the  ground,  the  butt  con- 
stantly exercising  a  heavy  leverage  on  the  wrist. 
Naturally  I  am  lame. 


54  AT  PLATTSBURG 

Your  letters  come  daily,  which  saves  me  much 
anguish.  At  each  distribution  of  the  mail  there 
is  much  quiet  disappointment,  which  later  is 
very  likely  to  express  itseK  in  the  tent.  Said 
Reardon  today,  the  silent  man  of  the  squad, 
"I'm  going  to  write  a  letter  home  that  will  raise 
hell."  Bannister,  whose  wife  had  missed  a  day, 
remarked  gravely,  "I'll  have  to  say  something 
to  her."  And  Pickle  came  into  the  tent  mad, 
savagely  remarking,  "If  I  don't  get  a  letter  next 
mail,  I'm  going  home."    Luckily  it  came. 

But  yet  the  men  don't  always  sympathize  with 
each  other.  Clay  was  bitterly  complaining  of 
his  luck.  Said  Knudsen,  "But  man,  you  can't 
expect  an  answer  to  your  letter  yet.  It  had  to 
go  to  Maryland."  Then  Bannister,  taking  his 
mind  from  his  own  disappointment,  added,  "And 
great  Scott !  look  at  the  letter  you  writ.  It  was 
so  long  that  she  would  need  three  whole  days  to 
read  it  in,  before  she  could  begin  her  answer. 
And  as  to  your  writing  such  an  amount  to  your 
mother — !"  "It  was  only  eight  pages,"  said 
handsome  Clay,  blushing.  Bannister  had  no 
mercy.  "Only  eight  pages?  Man,  it  was  a 
young  novel!  To  your  mother?  Your  grand- 
mother, more  likely."    Clay  was  silenced. 

Our  fourth  blankets  are  served  out,  and  we 
sleep  very  snug.  Food  is  the  same,  wholesome 
but  not  delicate.  David  and  Pickle,  having  each 
a  sweet  tooth,  buy  rather  freely  outside,  and 
David  occasionally  slips  away  for  a  hotel  meal. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  55 

As  a  consequence,  they  sometimes  need  doctor- 
ing. The  rest  of  the  squad,  whether  from  econ- 
omy or  on  principle,  stick  to  the  daily  mess  and 
are  well.    Love  from 

Dick. 


Telegram  from  Private  Richard  Godwin  to 
His  Mother  at  Home 

Plattshurg,  Wednesday,  Sep.  IJ. 

is  you  know  who  at  plattshurg  and  why  i 
thought  i  saw  her  here  today  am  well  love 

Dick. 


Letters  from  the  Same 

Postscript,  written  at  the  top  of  the  first  sheet  of  the 

letter 

I  have  just  sent  you  off  this  telegram:  Is  You- 
know-who  at  Plattshurg,  and  why?  I  thought  I 
saw  her  here  today.    Am  well.    Love. 

Second  postscript,  written  in  the  margin 

I  find  I  have  written  you  a  letter  that  will 
show  you  my  difficulties  in  getting  time  to  write. 
It  is  merely  typical  of  my  usual  day. 

Dear  Mother: — 

I  begin  this  letter  in  the  tent  at  about  5.30  in 
the  morning,  expecting  the  first  assembly,  yet 
trying  to  snatch  a  little  time  while  the  rest  of  the 
camp  is  still  dressing.  My  hand  no  longer  aches, 
but  the  wrist  is  plain  stiff  from  yesterday's  exer- 
cise at  trail.  I  have  just  conned  over  fifty  para- 
graphs of  the  drill  book,  getting  up  early  for  the 
purpose. 

s6 


AT  PLATTSBURG  57 

Free  time  is  scarce.  When  the  captain  yester- 
day told  us  to  put  fifteen  minutes  a  day  on  our 
study  of  the  rifle,  and  especially  in  learning  to 
squeeze  (a  mystery  which  I  will  expound  to  you 
when  I  myself  have  mastered  it)  the  whole  com- 
pany groaned.    Oiu:  time  is  so  cut  up  that  it  is 

{The  bugle  and  the  whistle  I  Five  minutes  for 
assembly) 

hard  to  find  many  minutes  at  a  stretch  which 
you  can  devote  to  any  one  thing.  And  yet  I 
think  it  quite  right  that  yesterday,  after  retiuning 
from  the  open  order  drill,  squad  after  squad  of  us 
should  of  our  own  accord  go  down  to  the  drill 
field  and  practise  the  new  tricks,  especially  in 
preserving  the  squad  formation  while  following 
the  corporal  over  whatever  ground  and  through 
whatever  angles.  Those  fifteen  minutes  will  help 
us  today.  Bannister  tends  quietly  to  his  job, 
an  amusing  feUow  with  his  little  imitations  of  a 
farmer  (which  some  day  he  means  to  be),  his 
chuckling  Yankee  wit,  and  his  interest  in  telling 
all  about  his  wife  and  children  at  home. 

Speaking  of  corporals,  Corder  has  brought  out 
new  facts  regarding  Knudsen.  Yesterday,  when 
the  tent  was  empty  but  for  us  three,  Corder 
stopped  Knudsen  from  going  out  while  at  the 
same  time  he  beckoned  to  me.  Lucy,  coming  in 
just  then,  stopped  and  listened  also.  "Knud- 
sen," said  Corder,  "youVe  drilled  before."  "Not 
infantry  drill,"  answered  Knudsen.  "Recently?" 
demanded  Corder.    Knudsen  admitted,  "All  last 


SS  AT  PLATTSBURG 

winter  with  a  troop  of  cavalry/'  "Then  why," 
demanded  Corder,  "didn't  you  say  you  had  had 
experience,  and  try  to  be  a  corporal  yourseK?" 
"Because " 

{Bugle  again,  and  half  an  hour  for  breakfast. 
Having  a  little  time  before  morning  drill,  I  go  on) 

"Because,"  said  Knudsen,  "I  didn't  want  to  be 
corporal.  I  came  here  tired  to  death  from  a  long 
hard  worrying  year  in  getting  that  factory  of 
mine  in  good  running  order.  I  don't  want  to  have 
anything  more  to  do,  for  the  whole  of  this  month, 
with  managing  a  stupid  gang  of  men."  "  Thanks ! " 
said  Corder  and  I  together,  and  we  bowed  as  if 
we  had  been  driUed  to  do  it,  exactly  together. 
Knudsen  was  rather  taken  aback,  but  he  laughed 
and  apologized.  "You  ought  to  be  corporal  of  a 
squad,"  said  Corder.  "Do  you  want  to  get  me 
out  of  this  one?"  demanded  Knudsen.  "Ban- 
nister is  aU  right.  I  tell  you  I'm  here  for  a  rest, 
and  I  want  to  escape  the  captain's  notice."  We 
promised  {Bugle!)  to  help  him  keep  in  his  ob- 
scurity.   Lucy  stood  silent,  but  full  of  admiration. 

{Sergeanfs  whistle,  and  Pickle  comes  running 
in,  ^^Make  up  the  packs  without  the.  ponchos! " 
Good  by  for  the  present) 

{Four  hours  later,  after  skirmish  practice  in  the 
roughest  kind  of  low  underbrush,  in  which  I  nearly 
lost  a  legging,  and  wished  for  a  pair  of  wooden  el- 
bows) 

The  company  was  split  in  two  this  morning, 
those  men  who  had  used  high-power  rifles  being 


AT  PLATTSBURG  59 

taken  away  by  the  captain,  whose  specialty  is 
shooting,  while  the  rest  of  us  went  with  the 
lieutenant  up  the  Peru  road,  and  turned  into  an 
old  overgrown  blueberry  pasture.  Luckily  there 
were  no  blueberries,  for  whenever  we  threw  our- 
selves flat  we  should  have  squashed  more  on  our 
clothes  than  we  should  have  had  time  to  eat. 
Bannister  being  with  the  shooters,  we  (such  as 
remained  of  our  squad)  were  put  with  a  neighbor- 
ing corporal  who  did  not  know  his  business,  and 

{Forty  minutes  for  mess.  After  a  cigarette,  I 
am  trying  to  snatch  a  few  minutes  now) 
and  speedily  had  the  lieutenant  "bawling  us 
out."  So  very  quietly,  but  very  firmly,  with 
Corder  again  winking  at  me  in  perfect  delight, 
Knudsen  took  over  corporal  and  squad,  and 
managed  us  in  an  imdertone  from  his  position  of 
number  two.  He  kept  the  squad  together,  told 
the  corporal  when  to  spread  it  out,  and  that  in- 
nocent person  willingly  gave  himself  into  Knud- 
sen's  hands.     We  had  plenty  to  do  in  a  series  of 

{Bugle  and  whistle.  Of  for  afternoon  drill, — Now 
at  3.24  P.M.  after  learning  to  pitch  shelter  tents) 
imaginary  attacks,  sometimes  in  showers,  and  we 
steaming  in  our  ponchos  or  shivering  without 
them,  ploughing  through  the  wet  bushes  or  throw- 
ing ourselves  flat  in  them.  Then,  from  whatever 
positions  we  found  ourselves  in,  we  had  to  "sim- 
ulate firing"  at  an  enemy  until  my  neck  was  lame 
from  trying  to  hold  my  head  up,  and  my  elbows 
were  sore  from  their  rough  lodgings.    The  corporal 


6o  AT  PLATTSBURG 

was  perfectly  docile,  and  Knudsen  even  hooked  his 
fingers  in  the  back  of  the  man's  belt  and  pulled 
him  here  and  there. 

{Sergeants  whistle  ^  and  again  Pickle  comes  div- 
ing into  the  tent,  ^^Undershirts  only y  for  the  sun^s 
out  hot.  Take  your  towel  if  you  want  to  swimJ' 
That  means  calisthenics. — After  forty  minutes.) 

Out  we  went  to  the  drill  field,  took  off  (most 
of  us)  our  remaining  shirts,  and  were  put  through 
nine  hundred  exercises  till  we  dripped,  while 
ladies  in  their  automobiles  watched  us  from  the 
top  of  the  slope.  Hope  they  enjoyed  it.  When 
it  was  over  we  were  dismissed  where  we  stood  and 
streamed  yelling  to  the  beach,  where  we  found 
Champlain,  at  the  hot  end  of  this  changeable 
day,  able  to  repay  us  for  all  our  sufferings. 

Well,  to  finish  the  corporal  story.  The  squad 
were  perfect  lambs  in  Knudsen's  hands,  none 
daring  to  bleat,  while  all  around  us  the  other 
squads  were  disputing  in  undertones  and  going 
wrong  amid  storms  of  discontent.  When  we  had 
got  back  to  the  tent,  and  had  lost  our  emergency 
non-com.,  Knudsen  began  to  praise  him  for  an 
excellent  corporal.  "He  was  good  so  long  as  you 
had  him  in  charge,"  said  Corder.  ^'Especially 
good  on  that  last  deployment  when  you  yanked 
him  into  place.  If  you  don't  want  to  be  pro- 
moted, man,  let  your  superiors  blunder,  and  don't 
correct  them."  "The  lieutenant  wasn't  looking," 
answered  Knudsen  meekly. 

Now  about  (call  for  supper)  about  that  tele- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  6i 

gram  {call  for  regimental  conference.  I  am  now  at 
the  company  tent  waiting  for  the  captain^ s  confer- 
ence.)  about  that  telegram  of  mine.  Where  is 
Vera  Wadsworth?  For  when  we  were  on  the 
parade  ground  at  the  post  this  afternoon,  learning 
to  pitch  our  shelter  tents  (which  is  another  com- 
plicated affair,  the  explanation  of  which  I  will 
reserve)  we  found  ourselves  deserted  for  a  while 
by  our  mentor  the  lieutenant,  and  were  at  the 
mercy  of  green  sergeants,  who  knew  something, 
to  be  sure,  but  in  whom  we  had  no  confidence. 
Someone  discovered  him, — ^Pickle.  "Gee,"  said 
that  exponent  of  classic  English,  "spot  the  lieu- 
tenant with  a  skirt."  And  there  he  was  at  a 
distance,  in  talk  with  a  tall  girl,  handsome, 
unless  I  miss  my  guess,  and  Vera  herself,  if  I 
have  any  knowledge  of  her  figure,  and  of  a  cer- 
tain hat  and  parasol  she  lately  affected.  Quite 
at  home  there  too,  without  a  chaperon,  on  the 
walk  in  front  of  the  officers'  houses,  and  without 
a  waiting  automobile  that  brought  her  or  would 
carry  her  away.  What  could  bring  her  here? 
Were  her  mihtary  relatives  at  this  post  ?  At  any 
rate,  I  thought  they  were  now  at  the  border.  I 
hope  it  wasn't  she;  but  the  lieutenant,  as  he  re- 
turned to  us,  smiled  as  men  usually  do  as  they 
think  of  Vera.  Look  up  her  whereabouts  and  let 
me  know. 

I  see  the  captain  coming  to  conference.    Good 
night, 

Dick. 


Telegram  from  Mrs.  Richard  Godwin,  Senior, 
TO  Her  Son  at  Plattsburg,  Dated  Thurs- 
day, September  14,  1916 

she  is  taking  charge  of  her  cousins  children  at 
the  plattsburg  post  am  writing  mother. 


Private  Godwin^s  Daily  Letter 

Thursday,  Sept.  14,  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

Your  telegram,  reaching  me,  made  me  imcom- 
fortable  at  first.  However,  I  don't  suppose  I 
shall  meet  Vera,  so  I  shall  put  the  matter  out  of 
my  mind. 

Last  night  there  was  a  rain,  which  wakened 
me  as  it  came  down  pretty  heavily.  Knudsen, 
with  a  groan,  got  out  of  bed  and  put  on  his 
poncho.  "What  is  up?''  I  asked,  whispering; 
and  he,  likewise  trying  not  to  wake  the  others, 
answered,  "Rain  is  coming  in.  Must  fix  the 
tent-cap."  So  I  got  up  and  helped  him.  I  did 
not  tell  you,  I  think,  that  the  tent  is  open  at  the 
top  like  a  wigwam,  providing  perfect  ventilation; 
but  when  the  rain  comes  in  it  wets  the  clothes 
hung  around  the  poles,  and  also  the  rifles.  But 
a  canvas  cap,  which  in  fair  weather  is  laid  back, 
may  be  dragged  over  the  opening  by  ropes  hauled 
from  below,  and  Knudsen  and  I  managed  to  close 

62 


AT  PLATTSBURG  63 

it.  Maybe  you  think  it  was  fun,  falling  over  the 
tent-ropes  in  the  windy  dark. 

By  daylight  it  was  raining  still,  and  we  were 
ordered  out  in  our  ponchos  for  the  assembly. 
Poor  Lucy  has  so  far  always  been  helped  into  his, 
and  stood  looking  at  it  hopelessly.  "Which  side 
is  front?''  As  usual,  Knudsen  came  to  his  help. 
"The  long  side.  No,  that's  inside  out.  Don't 
you  see  the  collar?  Button  it  under  your  chin. 
Now  button  the  sides  of  the  lower  part  round 
behind  you.  Fix  the  two  remaining  comers  to 
hang  down  over  yoiur  hands.  Now  you're  good 
for  anything  that  may  happen  all  day." 

"All  day?"  demanded  poor  Lucy.  "Do  you 
mean  to  say  we'll  drill  in  the  rain?"  "Shall 
we  sit  and  suck  our  thumbs  here?"  demanded 
amused  Pickle.  Knudsen,  more  subtle,  merely 
remarked,  "Oh,  damn  the  weather!"  and  Lucy 
stiffened  as  he  got  the  idea  that  the  rain  wouldn't 
hurt  him. 

He  is  really  improving.  Daily  he  manfully 
shaves  himself  for  practice  (every  other  day  would 
be  enough)  and  his  early  wounds  are  healing 
nicely,  while  he  has  none  of  recent  date.  The 
poor  lad's  hands  are  pretty  sore  from  handling 
his  gim.  The  captain  halted  before  him  tlie 
other  day  as  we  were  doing  the  manual,  and  fixed 
him  with  a  cold  eye.  "Hit  that  gun  harder,"  he 
said.  "You  can't  hurt  it  with  your  hands." 
David  faintly  smiled,  and  now  he  is  trying  to 
callous  his  palms. 


64  AT  PLATTSBURG 

We  ate  our  breakfasts  in  our  ponchos:  there  is 
no  place  to  hang  them  up,  and  they  make  very 
good  bibs.  And  in  our  ponchos  we  marched; 
they  covered  the  packs,  making  us  look  like 
pedlers,  or  as  Knudsen  said,  like  camels.  We 
kept  our  rifles  dry  imder  them,  but  were  not  long 
dry  ourselves,  for  these  service  ponchos  not  being 
exactly  waterproof,  soon  wet  through  at  the  knees, 
or  wherever  else  we  rubbed  as  we  marched.  I 
am  therefore  rather  envious  of  David's  fine  new 
poncho,  of  best  rubber.  If  I  come  again  I  shall 
have  one  of  my  own — a,  poncho,  remember,  and 
not  the  civiHan  rubber  coat  with  which  some 
have  supplied  themselves. 

They  marched  us  this  morning  first  to  the  post 
gymnasium,  and  there  we  sat  in  a  great  half- 
circle  while  Major  Stewart  explained  to  us  the 
history  of  army  packs,  and  some  facts  about  the 
one  that  bears  his  name.  Our  men  in  other  wars 
have  abandoned  their  packs  on  entering  battle, 
they  were  such  encimibrances  in  skirmishing. 
In  the  battle  of  San  Juan  thousands  of  packs  were 
dropped  by  the  roadside,  and  the  men  finished 
their  fighting  without  rations.  But  the  new  pack 
may  be  worn  both  in  marchiQg  and  in  shooting; 
further,  on  expecting  battle  the  rolls  may  be  made 
short,  and  then  are  strapped  to  the  lower  part  of 
the  haversack.  This  part,  on  drawing  out  a 
leather  strap,  falls  to  the  ground,  and  the  men  go 
forward  lightened  of  the  heaviest  part  of  their 
burden,  but  yet  carrying  food  enough  for  the 


AT  PLATTSBURG  65 

day's  work.  At  its  worst  the  Stewart  pack  is, 
compared  to  the  old  blanket  roll,  many  poimds 
to  the  good. 

And  yet,  mother,  though  wise  Mr.  Bryan  has 
bragged  of  our  ability  to  put  an  army  of  a  million 
men  into  the  field  overnight,  of  the  few  thousands 
at  the  border  a  fair  half  are  still  equipped  with 
the  old  pack.  Is  the  rest  of  the  miUion  to  be  pro- 
portionately well  fitted  out? 

In  order  to  show  that  the  pack  will  fit  anyone, 
the  Major  called  for  the  tallest  man  in  the  regi- 
ment. A  strapping  big  fellow  of  perhaps  thirty- 
five  got  up  and  stepped  confidently  onto  the  plat- 
form, amid  the  cheers  of  the  crowd,  and  the 
Major  prepared  to  strap  the  pack  onto  him. 
But  I  heard  from  behind  me  various  urgent 
cries  of  "Go  on  up!''  and  a  fine  young  fellow, 
straight  as  a  lance,  walked  roimd  the  seated  men, 
and  also  stepped  upon  the  platform.  Though 
much  slenderer  than  the  other,  the  newcomer  was 
a  good  inch  taller.  A  roar  of  applause  came  from 
the  regiment,  and  the  first  man,  understanditig, 
laughed  and  stepped  down.  Then  he  turned 
back  and  spoke  to  the  yoimger  man,  evidently 
asking  his  height.  "How  tall?  How  tall?"  de- 
manded the  crowd,  and  the  young  fellow  held 
up  six  fingers,  indicating  six  feet  six.  A  similar 
scene  occurred  for  the  shortest  man,  a  thin  little 
fellow  getting  the  honor;  then  a  third  aspirant, 
being  evidently  taller,  was  laughed  back.  But 
what  struck  me  was  tJie  reception  given  a  bald- 


66  AT  PLATTSBURG 

headed,  round-headed,  roly-poly  Httle  mustached 
fellow,  who  hesitated  near  at  hand.  The  crowd 
instantly  nicknamed  him.  "Come  on,  Cupid, 
and  measure  yourself.''  But  Cupid  had  his 
doubts,  and  so  retired. 

The  lecture  being  over,  luckily  so  was  the 
rain;  but  the  captain  took  us  out  on  that  rolling 
coimtry  that  flanks  the  Peru  road,  and  gave  us 
a  fight  with  an  imagiaary  enemy,  through  wet 
bushes,  across  a  dump,  over  and  among  little  sand 
and  gravel  pits,  finally  ambushing  with  great 
care  an  innocent  Catholic  cemetery.  As  we  did 
this  badly,  on  our  advance  exposing  ourselves  to 
the  fire  from  the  ornamental  statuary,  we  had  to 
do  it  over  again.  It  was  difficult  practice,  keeping 
in  line;  but  it  was  fairly  exciting  to  throw  your- 
self, at  conmiand,  flat  on  your  face  wherever  you 
happened  to  be.  I  thus  gained  intimate  acquain- 
tance with  a  pile  of  tin  cans,  a  scrub  hard  pine,  and 
a  big  hill  of  black  ants.  As  the  proper  method  of 
moving  sideways,  when  in  skirmish  line,  is  to 
roll,  I  rolled  away  from  the  latter  position,  not 
to  the  betterment  of  my  poncho. 

This  afternoon,  again  in  rain,  we  marched  to 
the  gymnasium  once  more,  and  the  building  not 
having  been  ventilated,  found  the  air  very  op- 
pressive after  oiu:  hearty  dinner.  The  captain 
talked  to  us  of  the  rifle  and  its  use  in  target  shoot- 
ing; but  conditions  were  against  him,  for  it  was  a 
very  sleepy  crowd  that  listened.  I  found  myself 
drowsy,  men  were  nodding  all  about  me,  and 


AT  PLATTSBURG  6^ 

Corder  declared  that  he  had  247  distinct  and 
separate  naps.  But  it  was  necessary  to  rouse 
when  we  were  required  to  adjust  our  slings  and 
take  position  for  snapping  at  a  mark.  The  sling 
is  the  strap  of  the  gun,  which  when  fitted  to  the 
upper  arm,  and  the  arms  and  body  braced  against 
the  pull  of  it,  in  some  mysterious  way  gives 
steadiness.  Our  calisthenics  were  partly  devised, 
I  am  sxure,  to  help  us  take  the  contortionists'  at- 
titudes necessary  for  this  graceful  exercise.  But 
nothing,  not  even  our  skirmishing,  prepared  my 
elbows  for  our  final  stunt  of  throwing  ourselves 
prone  on  the  hard  floor,  and  in  approved  target- 
shooting  posture  snapping  ten  shots  at  the  third 
button  of  the  captain's  shirt,  while  the  lieutenant 
counted  ninety  seconds  by  his  watch. 

Returning,  we  found  that  rifle-inspection  was 
scheduled,  with  a  special  warning  that  the  cap- 
tain was  not  satisfied  with  the  way  we  kept  the 
guns.  So  we  got  out  our  single  cleaning-rod  and 
passed  it  from  cot  to  cot,  with  the  nitro-solvent 
and  the  oil,  and  such  few  patches  as  yet  remained 
to  us.  For  no  amount  of  them  will  satisfy  one 
company,  or  even  one  squad,  and  we  are  always 
short.  The  rifles  cleaned,  we  policed  the  tent, 
making  it  absolutely  neat.  Now  such  are  the 
acoustic  properties  of  these  canvas  dwellings  that 
we  can  hear  what  goes  on  in  our  neighbors',  and 
so  it  happened  that  we  heard,  from  tent  6,  Ran- 
dall's controversy  with  the  rest  of  his  squad.  It 
is  seldom  that  one  man  will  talk  down  seven,  but 


6S  AT  PLATTSBURG 

we  heard  the  whole  of  his  obstinate  defense,  how 
that  he  hadn't  known  that  he  was  tent-poHceman 
for  the  day,  that  no  one  had  poHced  the  tent  yes- 
terday, or  eke  the  day  before,  that  it  was  a  sin 
and  a  shame  to  make  him  do  other  men's  work, 
that  especially  in  the  matter  of  the  smoky  lan- 
tern, which  no  one  had  cleaned  since  the  opening 
of  camp,  it  was  wrong  to  make  him  bear  the  bur- 
den of  accumulated  neglect.  Some  of  us  chuckled 
at  all  this,  but  at  such  a  clamor  raised  for  the 
purpose  of  escaping  duty  David  listened  soberly. 
*'He  works  very  hard  to  avoid  work,"  said  the 
boy,  whose  good  manners  will  not  let  him  evade 
any  duty  which  he  clearly  perceives — though  I 
will  admit  that  his  perceptions  are  still  rather 
dull. 

The  row  died  down,  we  heard  the  rattle  of  the 
lantern,  and  then  Randall's  voice.  "I  was  only 
jollying  you."  No  answer,  but  still  the  lantern 
rattled.  "I'm  willing  to  do  my  share  of  the 
work."  StiU  no  answer.  "Oh,  well,"  said  Ran- 
dall finally,  "if  you  feel  that  way  about  it,  give 
me  the  lantern.  I'll  clean  it."  We  heard  the 
corporal's  voice.  "I've  got  it  nearly  cleaned. 
And  you  can  squeak  out  of  your  work,  Randall; 
but  just  the  same,  we've  got  our  opinion  of  you." 

I  thought  the  corporal  had  the  best  of  it.  It 
is  no  small  penalty  to  carry  around  the  squad's 
opinion  of  one's  shortcomings. 

At  inspection  time  the  rain  was  heavy,  and 
word  was  passed  to  wait  for  the  captain  in  our 


AT  PLATTSBURG  69 

tents.  For  this  we  blessed  him,  seeing  no  fun  in 
standing  in  Hne  in  the  street;  and  Lucy  found  that 
after  all  the  weather  is  considered  in  the  army. 
When  it  was  the  turn  of  tent  8  we  lined  up  facing 
each  other,  and  the  captain,  stooping  to  get  his 
hat  safely  through  the  door,  came  in  between  our 
two  lines.  He  said  "Just  give  me  your  gims  as 
I'm  ready  for  them,"  a  deceptively  mild  beginning, 
we  feared,  knowing  how  sharp  he  could  be.  But 
at  the  foiurth  gun  he  said,  "The  rifles  are  not  so 
bad."  I  handed  him  mine,  breech  open,  hoping 
that  it  was  up  to  the  average.  He  tried  to  look 
down  the  barrel;  then  when  he  snorted  I  declare 
I  felt  like  a  boy  before  his  schoolmaster.  But  to 
my  relief  he  laughed,  took  from  the  muzzle  the 
plug  that  I  had  put  there  in  expectation  of  a  long 
wait  in  the  rain,  looked  through  the  barrel,  and 
passed  it.  When  he  left  he  told  us  to  turn  out 
for  Retreat  with  ponchos  only — ^for  which  again 
we  blessed  him. 

As  the  absence  of  conference,  on  accoimt  of 
rain,  gives  me  extra  time,  I  shall  write  a  dis- 
sertation, not  on  roast  pig,  but  just  on  pig,  in  other 
words  on  table  manners.  Our  company  has  a 
comer  of  one  of  the  mess  shacks,  into  which  we 
are  marched.  When  first  we  came  our  method 
was  to  stand,  hats  on,  by  our  places,  where  our 
cups  and  plates  were  waiting  upside  down.  At 
the  command  "H  Company,  take  seats!"  (and 
much  merriment  a  sergeant  once  made  when  he 
commanded  "Be  seated!")  we  took  off  our  hats 


70  AT  PLATTSBURG 

very  decorously,  hung  them  up  (whether  behind 
us  on  the  walls  or  in  front  of  us  under  the  tables) 
sat  down,  turned  over  our  plates,  and  reached  for 
the  dishes.  Now  some  tables,  or  sections  of  tables, 
still  maintain  this  lofty  standard  of  good  breed- 
ing, by  the  sheer  fact  that  the  most  of  the  men  are 
well  bred  and  the  rest  are  ashamed  not  to  be. 
But  where  the  proportion  is  reversed  degeneration 
is  rapid.  The  men  furtively  hang  up  their  hats 
and  turn  over  their  plates  before  the  order,  and 
if  a  bunch  of  them  take  to  doing  this,  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  remedy  for  it.  "It's  up  to  you," 
said  a  sergeant  to  us  on  the  first  day.  "You  can 
be  gentlemen,  or  you  can  be  the  other  thing." 

So  it  is  after  we  are  seated.  Certain  actions 
are  natural,  as  determined  by  the  fact  that  while 
there  is  plenty  of  food,  there  is  never  on  the  table 
at  one  time  enough  of  any  one  thing.  (A  few 
more  dishes  and  platters  would  apparently  remedy 
this.)  Further,  we  haven't  time  to  wait.  So  we 
begiQ  on  what  happens  to  be  in  front  of  us,  cereal 
first  at  one  end  of  the  table,  fruit  first  iq  the 
middle  (if  there  is  any!),  eggs  and  bacon  further 
along;  thus  by  degrees  we  work  through  the  bill 
of  fare.    And  this  is  not  improper. 

But  when  the  fellows  take  to  laying  in  supplies 
of  whatever  is  within  reach,  and  surrounding 
themselves  with  plates  heaped  with  the  substance 
of  future  courses,  it  is  first  unfair  and  next  de- 
moralizing. If  one  man  hogs  the  available  sup- 
ply for  merely  later  use,  he  teaches  his  neighbor 


AT  PLATTSBURG  71 

to  do  the  same  in  self-defense.  And  so  you  can 
watch  the  proof  of  the  old  copy-book  motto  con- 
cerning evil  communications. 

A  word  concerning  reaching  at  table,  for  your 
guidance,  my  dear  mother,  when  next  you  find 
yourself  at  a  table  d'hote.  I  calculate  that  for 
this  method  of  helping  one's  self  there  is  a  wrong 
way  and  a  right.  Imagine  yourself  beside  a  busy 
person  beyond  whom  lies  the  wished-for  dish. 
If  you  reach  with  the  arm  nearest  the  dish,  your 
arm  goes  across  your  neighbor's  plate,  a  fact 
which  my  neighbors  have  frequently  proved  to 
me.  But  if  you  reach  with  the  arm  furthest  from 
the  dish  you  wiU  not  cross  his  plate,  your  body 
swinging  your  arm  in  over  the  table.  I  come 
to  this  interesting  social  discovery  rather  late  in 
life,  on  account  of  the  excellent  table  service  to 
which  you  have  accustomed  me. 

There  goes  the  warning  bugle.  If  I  am  not 
safely  tucked  up  in  my  little  bed  at  taps,  the 
sergeant  will  say  "Tut!    Tut!"    So  good  night. 

Dick. 


Mrs.  Godwin  to  Her  Son  Richard,  in  a  Letter 
Dated  September  14,  19 16 

Your  telegram,  my  dear,  dear  Dick,  I  have  just 
replied  to,  and  will  now  add  such  facts  as  I  know 
concerning  Vera's  going  to  Plattsburg.  What  I 
can  tell  you  comes  through  her  sister  Frances, 
with  whom  I  have  always  been  more  intimate 
than  Vera,  even  when  you  two  were  engaged. 
And  Frances  has  come  several  times  to  the  house, 
now  that  you  are  gone.    I  asked  her  to. 

If  the  breaking  of  your  engagement  was  a  blow 
to  your  pride,  my  dear  boy,  think  what  it  was  to 
Vera's.  I  don't  know  anyone  prouder  than  she. 
And  to  publish  the  fact  that  you  two  had  changed 
your  minds — !  She  wanted  to  go  away,  but  the 
Wadsworths  are  nearly  as  poor  as  they  are  proud, 
and  she  didn't  feel  justified.  Then  there  came  a 
letter  from  her  cousin  Dolly,  who  married  that 
handsome  Captain  Marsh  and  was  stationed  at 
Plattsburg.  Dolly's  husband  is  now  on  the  border, 
and  Dolly  could  stand  the  separation  no  longer. 
She  was  going  to  Texas,  and  one  of  the  cousins 
must  come  to  Plattsburg  and  take  charge  of  her 
house.  The  children  wouldn't  be  a  burden,  be- 
cause there  was  the  very  capable  nurse  who  had 
taken  care  of  them  since  they  were  bom.  And 
old  Colonel  Marsh  wouldn't  be  a  bother,  having  a 
certain  routine  which  got  him  through  his  days 
very  well.    Of  course  it  would  be  very  dull  with 

72 


AT  PLATTSBURG  73 

all  the  officers  away  from  the  post,  and  those  at 
the  instruction  camp  constantly  busy.  But  one 
of  the  sisters  must  come  and  relieve  her,  or  Dolly 
would  go  mad.  She  is  all  bound  up  in  that  hus- 
band of  hers. 

It  was  plain  that  she  expected  Frances  to  come, 
being  so  domestic,  and  so  old-fashioned- womanly. 
But  Vera,  you  know,  in  spite  of  her  suffragism 
and  her  feminism  has  always  been  kept  by  her 
father  from  having  anything  to  do,  and  so  she 
had  nothing  to  occupy  herseH  with  just  when  she 
needed  occupation  most.  So  she  declared  that 
she  must  go,  and  of  course  Frances  let  her. 
"But  you  know,"  said  Frances  to  me,  looking 
up  from  her  sewing  with  a  little  twinkle,  "I  know 
Vera  will  be  in  hot  water  with  the  old  Colonel 
from  the  first,  she  is  so  out  of  sympathy  with 
war,  and  the  mihtary  life,  and  all  it  has  (or  hasn't) 
to  offer  women."  That's  her  sex  independence, 
you  see. 

Vera  can't  know  that  you're  there.  She  went 
just  before  you  so  suddenly  made  up  yoiu:  mind 
to  go,  and  Frances  hasn't  written  her  of  your 
going.  I  told  her  I  shouldn't  tell  you,  and  begged 
her  not  to  write  Vera.  And  unless  Vera  recog- 
nizes you,  which  isn't  likely,  she  will  know  noth- 
ing of  your  whereabouts. 

It  is  odd  that  David  Famham  is  in  your  squad, 
and  amusing  that  I  should  have  seen  his  mother 
only  yesterday.  She  never  was  so  proud  of  any- 
thing in  her  life  as  of  the  fact  that  he  is  at  Platts- 


74  AT  PLATTSBURG 

burg.  So  she  has  become  a  perfect  nuisance  to 
her  friends,  talking  of  him  so.  I  met  her  at  a 
Bridge,  and  she  was  crazy  to  see  me,  David  having 
written  her  that  you  two  are  together.  So  she 
got  herself  put  at  my  table,  and  our  two  part- 
ners were  furious,  because  the  game  dwindled 
away  to  nothing,  she  talking  of  David  all  the 
time.  You  would  have  thought  that  he  was  the 
whole  army  and  navy  of  these  United  States.  I 
was  at  first  quite  frightened  that  she  would  ask 
me  yom:  opinion  of  his  fitness.  But  not  at  all; 
that  was  quite  settled  in  her  mind.  She  talked 
about  his  deciding  to  go,  and  how  he  made  her 
see  that  it  was  the  best  thing  for  him  and  for  the 
coimtry — and  there  is  a  story  to  that,  because  it 
was  her  husband  that  insisted  on  her  letting  David 
go,  when  she  would  have  kept  him.  And  she 
talked  of  his  equipment,  how  horrid  it  was  that 
he  couldn't  dress  like  the  officers,  especially  his 
legs,  they  are  so  handsome;  but  he  wasn't  allowed 
to  wear  puttees  or  leather  leggings,  but  must  wear 
those  canvas  things.  And  she  gave  him  every- 
thing new;  she  even  mentioned  those  French  sUk 
pajamas  that  so  amuse  you.  And  then  she  was 
indignant  that  he  was  not  at  once  made  a  lieu- 
tenant, or  something.  And  the  men  in  his  tent, 
except  you,  Dick,  are  of  no  social  standing  what- 
ever. Of  course  she  hadn't  heard  of  his  being 
called  Lucy.  She  was  so  satisfied  that  I  wanted 
to  tell  her.    Do  write  me  more  of  him. 

Lovingly  Mother. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Before  morning  drills  Friday ^  Sep.  ij,  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

Our  good  Lucy  is  a  different  lad  from  the  one 
that  landed  here  a  week  ago.  Did  I  tell  you  that 
he  has  come  to  the  heroic  resolution  to  clean  his 
own  gim?  I  suppose  the  strongest  factor  in  that 
is  his  detestation  of  Randall.  It's  quite  common 
here  for  fellows  to  get  the  regulars  to  clean  their 
gims,  and  there's  more  to  be  said  for  that  than 
for  many  other  indulgences:  at  least  it's  better 
for  the  rifles.  The  regulars  drive  a  good  little 
trade  of  this  kind,  and  David  has  twice  sent  out 
his  piece  to  be  laimdered,  as  it  were.  But  I  know 
that  he  perceived  that  the  sentiment  of  the  squad 
is  against  it,  and  I  think  he's  sensitive  enough  to 
imderstand  the  reasons.  We're  all  here  to  learn 
to  be  soldiers,  and  taking  care  of  his  gxm  is  a 
pretty  important  part  of  a  soldier's  job.  And 
then  we're  an  economical  crowd.  David  and  I 
are  the  only  ones  in  the  squad  that  didn't  have 
to  pinch  a  Httle  in  order  to  get  here;  even  Corder 
spoke  recently  of  the  expense  as  something  im- 
welcome.  So  it's  really  rather  bad  form  to  pay 
for  outside  service.  Yet  for  all  that,  David 
couldn't  quite  bring  himself  to  do  the  dirty  work. 

So  when  a  regular  came  to  us  yesterday,  before 
inspection,  and  asked  for  gims  to  clean,  David 
began  to  get  his  gun  out  of  the  rack.   He  looked  a 

75    • 


76  AT  PLATTSBURG 

Kttle  uneasily  at  Ejiudsen,  but  the  Swede  wouldn't 
see  it;  he  kept  squinting  through  his  own  piece. 
The  regular,  to  make  matters  sure,  said,  "Mr. 
Randall  told  me  you'd  give  me  your  gim.  I 
always  clean  his."  With  the  funniest  Httle  set  of 
his  jaw,  as  if  he  didn't  quite  know  how  to  do  it, 
David  reached  for  the  cleaning  rod.  "Well,"  he 
said,  "Mr.  Randall  is  mistaken.  I  clean  my  gun 
myself."  Then  he  sat  down  beside  Knudsen,  as 
if  sure  that  the  other  would  teach  him — in  which 
he  was  right.  His  dirty  hands  at  the  end  were  a 
sad  sight  to  him,  and  yet  I  think  he  was  proud 
of  them  too. 

This  morning  Randall,  who  hasn't  learned 
(and  I  question  if  he  ever  will)  how  unwelcome 
he  is  in  our  tent,  came  in  to  brag  a  Httle — and  of 
what!  There  stands  to  the  south  of  us  a  big 
hotel  whose  bulk  is  visible  from  the  camp,  a 
strong  temptation  to  all  our  luxurious  budding 
Napoleons.  Randall  was  there  last  night,  and 
came  in  to  tell  us  what  he  had  to  eat.  Particu- 
larly he  enjoyed,  he  said,  the  fresh  asparagus 
tips.  Pickle's  envy  overcame  his  dislike,  and  he 
had  nothing  to  say.  But  David's  eye  gleamed. 
"Fresh  asparagus  tips?"  he  asked.  "Scarcely 
that."  "Indeed?"  demanded  Randall.  "I  know 
asparagus  when  I  eat  it."  "But  not  fresh  as- 
paragus," countered  David.  "It's  not  to  be  had 
in  September.  Canned  tips,  Randall,  that's  all." 
And  Pickle,  in  his  relief,  cackled  aloud. 

I  have  of  late  told  you  so  little  of  our  officers 


AT  PLATTSBURG  77 

that  I  must  say  something  about  them  here,  of 
officers  as  a  class,  and  ours  in  particular.  We  are 
at  the  stage  of  theoretical  conferences — after  the 
regimental  meeting  each  night  on  the  drill-field 
is  a  company  conference  at  each  company  tent, 
where  the  non-coms  are  expected  to  go,  and 
where  all  others  are  invited.  Consequently  the 
captain  or  lieutenant  has  forty  men  there  each 
night,  crowded  close  around  the  table  and  packed 
at  the  open  side  of  the  tent.  We  are  learning  the 
theory  of  field  skirmish  work,  with  a  glance  at 
the  method  of  advancing  by  road  into  an  enemy's 
country. 

And  I  must  say  that  our  officers  have  at  their 
tongues'  ends  the  whole  of  the  principle  that  is 
embodied  in  that  strange  little  book,  the  drill 
regulations.  As  soon  as  you  have  got  beyond  the 
mere  parade-ground  work  (and  that  is  all  the 
civilian  ever  sees)  the  book  brings  you  to  a  region 
where  nothing  else  is  considered  than  the  one 
thing,  attack,  attack,  attack.  There  is  some- 
thing very  grim  and  inexorable  in  this  primer  of 
war,  this  A  B  C  of  the  principles  of  destruction. 
And  if  the  innocent  Httle  pocket  manual  contains 
a  codification,  so  condensed  as  to  be  amazing,  of 
the  ways  to  slay  your  enemy,  the  officers  are 
ready  with  every  possible  amplification  of  its  dry 
paragraphs.  Get  forward,  always  get  forward,  is 
their  intention.  Make  your  fire  effective,  make  it 
destructive,  make  it  overwhelming.  With  word, 
with  blackboard  plan  and  section,  with  theory, 


78  AT  PLATTSBURG 

with  practical  illustration,  each  night  they  lay 
before  us  some  new  field  of  this  really  awful  knowl- 
edge. We  study  it  eagerly.  Two  years  ago  I 
should  have  been  horrified  at  these  doctrines  that 
they  preach.  Today  I  regard  knowledge  of  them, 
by  a  sufficient  number  of  able-bodied  men,  as  the 
great  need  of  the  country. 

So  much,  dear  mother,  of  things  which  to  speak 
of  in  detail  would  only  pain  your  kind  heart.  As 
to  the  men  that  teach  us,  I  can  say  that  they 
improve  upon  acquaintance.  Each  of  them,  the 
captain  and  lieutenant,  has  his  own  way  of 
teaching.  In  the  lieutenant  a  coolness  of  state- 
ment that  seems  to  imply  a  calm  unshakableness, 
as  of  one  who  has  measured  all  risks  and  sees 
that  they  amoimt  to  nothing.  In  the  captain 
equal  clearness  but  more  fire.  Both  see  that  the 
only  safety  is  in  attack.  They  answer  our  ques- 
tions quite  differently,  the  lieutenant  with  a  crisp 
completeness  that  leaves  nothing  to  inquire  but 
much  to  ponder  on,  the  captain  with  an  illuminat- 
ing phrase  that  himaanizes  everything  and  brings 
instant  imderstanding.  Their  men  will  go  wher- 
ever they  send  them  in  a  fight,  for  the  lieutenant 
because  they  know  he  must  be  right,  for  the  cap- 
tain because  they  feel  it. 

We  never,  I  think,  can  know  the  lieutenant 
very  well,  because  of  that  quality  which  I  saw  in 
him  at  his  first  appearance  before  us,  an  aloofness 
that  taunts  us  into  the  determination  to  please 
him.    The  captain  I  am  sure  we  know  already,  a 


AT  PLATTSBURG  79 

worker,  a  driver,  but  one  who  shows  us  that  he 
understands  our  mistakes  by  the  very  keenness 
of  his  irony.  "  I  have  found  you  men  to  place  the 
hip  anywhere  between  the  armpit  and  the  knee. 
So  I  will  place  it  for  you  at  the  watch  pocket. 
That  is  your  ojfficial  hip,  gentlemen."  "Yes, 
skirmishers  in  Europe  are  now  wearing  steel  hel- 
mets. But  if  you  men  don^t  better  learn  to  keep 
under  cover  you  won't  need  steel  helmets,  you'll 
need  battleships."  "You  can't  take  too  many 
precautions  in  the  use  of  your  gims.  In  this 
game  with  me  out  in  front,  I'm  an  advocate  of 
safety  first." 

The  men  like  him,  but  more  than  that,  they 
respect  him.  You  know,  mother,  that  I  can  tell 
something  at  first  hand  about  learning  one's  job. 
But  these  officers  put  the  average  civilian  to  shame. 
I  doubt  if  there  is  stronger  professional  feeling, 
or  a  higher  standard  of  professional  achievement, 
anywhere  in  the  world.  If  all  the  other  officers 
are  like  our  two,  West  Pointers  are  a  formidable 
body  of  men. 

Dick. 


Extracts  from  the  Letters  of  Vera  Wads- 
worth  TO  Her  Sister  Frances 

Sep.  d,  igi6. 
Dear  Frances: — 

You  can't  imagine  what  a  relief  it  is  to  be  where 
there  are  no  men.  That  may  seem  to  you  a  curi- 
ous statement,  for  here  there  are  practically  no 
women  at  all,  and  nothing  but  men  in  the  land- 
scape from  morning  till  night.  But  there  are 
no  men  buzzing  about.  It  was  disgusting  to  me 
that  no  sooner  was  my  engagement  to  Dick 
broken  than  the  rushing  recommenced.  I  am  so 
glad  to  be  where  no  one  pays  me  any  attention 
at  all.  The  place  will  be  flooded  in  a  few  days 
with  a  thousand  new  rookies,  but  they  will  be 
nothing  else  to  me  than  trees  or  bushes,  and  I 
can  still  have  peace. 

There  are  ladies  here  whom  I  have  met,  and 
shall  meet  again.  Only  I  feel  no  interest  in  them 
just  now,  except  that  the  two  I  am  likeliest  to  see 
most  of  are  such  as  always  rouse  my  pity,  over- 
burdened with  the  cares  of  children  and  a  social 
position  on  a  small  salary.  And  the  money  of 
one  of  them  has  just  stopped  coming  in  because 
her  husband,  at  the  border,  allowed  an  emergency 
purchase  which  the  auditing  department  at  Wash- 
ington will  not  pass.  You  know  that  in  such  a 
case  the  officer's  pay  stops  until  the  deficiency  is 

80 


AT  PLATTSBURG  8i 

made  up  or  the  matter  is  explained.  No  one 
questions  his  honesty,  but  his  wife  and  children 
suffer.  And  a  man  will  ask  a  woman  to  take  that 
risk  with  him ! 

The  Colonel  is  the  nicest  old  gentleman,  very 
courteous.  There  is  no  doubt  that  army  officers 
have  delightful  manners;  he  begs  my  pardon 
every  time  he  lights  his  pipe.  Cannot  afford 
cigars,  of  course.  And  threadbare,  but  very 
neat.  But  what  is  the  use  of  courtesy  and  self- 
denial  if  you  believe  in  war,  make  war  your 
business  ? 

He  and  I  have  had  it  out  already.  Neither 
of  us  made  the  slightest  impression  on  the  other. 
His  argument  is  the  old  one:  be  prepared,  and 
people  will  let  you  alone.  He  cannot  be  made  to 
see  that  if  a  man  has  a  gun,  or  a  nation  has  an 
army,  the  temptation  to  use  it  will  some  day  be- 
come too  strong. 

I  haven't  given  him  my  opinion  of  the  army  as 
a  profession  for  women.  He  always  ends  our  dis- 
cussion with  a  charming  compliment.  But  I  am 
aching  to  point  out  to  him  the  condition  of  the 
house  we  live  in,  where  the  new  has  all  come  off 
of  Dolly's  wedding  presents,  the  chair  covers  are 
wearing  out,  holes  are  coming  in  the  napkins,  and 
there  is  no  money  for  replacements.  How  Dolly 
could  pay  for  her  trip  to  the  border,  or  keep 
herseff  there,  I  can't  think.  Suppose  the  children 
are  sick ! 

Oh,  my  dear,  I  am  so  weary  of  genteel  poverty ! 


82  AT  PLATTSBURG 

Why  couldn't  I  have  married  Dick?  He  worked 
so  hard,  and  got  himself  such  a  fine  position,  that 
we  should  have  been  so  comfortable !  And  then 
we  had  to  conclude  that  we  weren't  made  for  each 
other.  I  do  so  regret  it,  and  yet  there  was  noth- 
ing else  possible.  Perhaps  I'm  not  made  for  mar- 
riage after  all. 


September  12th. 
The  town,  as  I  told  you,  is  flooded  with  re- 
cruits, of  the  amateur  variety.  But  our  post  is  a 
little  oasis  all  by  itself,  and  except  that  they  come 
and  drill  on  the  parade  ground,  they  do  not  come 
near  us.  Did  I  tell  you  that  out  in  front  of  the 
house,  merely  across  a  driveway,  is  this  great  field 
where  the  training  companies  manoeuvre  morning 
and  afternoon,  and  where  they  occasionally  have 
regimental  or  battalion  drill?  Luckily  our  small 
piazza  is  all  grown  over  with  vines,  so  that  I  can 
sit  outside  for  the  air  and  yet  not  myself  be  seen. 
The  old  Colonel  watches  it  all  with  the  keenest 
interest,  tells  me  what  they  do  and  what  they  fail 
to  do,  and  I  am  even  learning  the  meaning  of  a 
few  military  terms.  He  approves  of  the  way  in 
which  the  new  men  learn,  and  is  very  proud  of 
what  they  are  achieving.  But  it  has  got  so  with 
me  that  I  pay  no  more  attention  to  the  drilling 
men  than  to  automobiles  going  by.  And  when 
their  hours  are  over  the  place  is  almost  as  de- 
serted as  before. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  83 

Sept.  13. 

I  am  rather  annoyed  by  the  fact  that  now  that 
the  training  camp  is  settling  into  its  routine,  its 
officers — the  unmarried  ones — find  time  to  come 
calling  on  the  Colonel.  Of  course  the  dear  old 
man  is  delighted  to  see  them,  and  doesn't  tell  me 
that  he  has  helped  to  spread  the  report  that  an 
ehgible  young  woman  is  staying  with  him.  I 
wish  he  hadn't.  For  I  have  found  out  that  mil- 
itary men  are  twice  as  bad  as  civilians.  They 
are  aggressive  by  nature,  or  they  wouldn't  have 
chosen  the  profession;  they  are  aggressive  by 
education;  three  minutes  after  they  are  intro- 
duced they  begin  a  flirtation.  There  is  a  lieu- 
tenant Pendleton  here  for  whom  I  am  sure  I  am 
the  twenty-seventh,  so  skilful  is  he  in  his  opera- 
tions. I  have  known  him  two  days,  and  I  expect 
him  to  propose  tomorrow.  There  are  three  others 
who  are  only  a  day,  or  at  most  two  days,  behind. 
You  know  them,  the  dashing,  fascinating  kind. 

Another  officer,  Lt.  Pendleton's  captain,  named 
Kirby,  I  cannot  quite  make  out.  He  doesn't  make 
love;  he  discusses  tactics  with  the  colonel.  Yet 
he  comes  quite  regularly,  and  keeps  me  in  sight. 
He  seems  grimmer,  more  tenacious  than  the  others; 
I'm  glad  he  gives  his  time  to  the  Colonel  rather 
than  to  me.  His  voice  has  a  curious  quality,  a 
most  immilitary  gentleness.  Pendleton,  when  he 
gets  you  in  a  corner,  purrs  to  you  alone;  yet  you 
feel  that  he  has  claws.  His  voice  rings  on  the 
parade  groimd;  I'm  sure  of  it.    I  can't  make  out 


84  AT  PLATTSBURG 

what  Captain  Kirby's  would  sound  like.  There  is 
a  deceptive  sympathy  to  it,  deceptive  because 
I  feel  in  him  much  purpose.  When  an  army 
officer  can't  flirt  he  either  likes  his  profession  too 
little  or  he  likes  it  too  much. 


Sep.  14, 
This  morning,  on  our  little  porch,  I  was  sitting 
sewing  behind  the  vines  when  Captain  Kirby 
came  marching  his  company  onto  the  parade 
ground  before  the  house.  And  then  I  learned 
what  his  voice  was  like,  my  dear.  Not  gentle  at 
all;  very  deep,  very  strong,  curiously  resonant, 
as  if  he  were  shouting  through  a  trumpet.  And 
how  do  you  suppose  he  treated  his  men,  so  many 
of  whom  are  gentlemen,  or  older  than  he,  or  earn- 
ing bigger  salaries.  Like  schoolboys !  I  first  saw 
him  when  he  was  standing  out  in  front  of  them, 
holding  in  his  hand,  swinging  by  the  strap,  a 
rifle  that  he  must  have  taken  from  one  of  them. 
Said  he:  "When  you're  at  route  step,  I  want  you 
not  to  carry  your  gims  like  suit-cases.  You 
aren't  a  gang  of  porters.  If  I  had  the  money  I'd 
tip  you  all;  but  cut  out  this  red-cap  stuff.  And 
don't  carry  it  5(7."  He  put  it  across  his  shoulders, 
pointing  right  and  left.  "You'll  put  out  the  eye 
of  the  man  on  your  right,  and  bash  the  ear  of  the 
man  on  your  left.  Now  remember,  Nature  is  a 
great  provider.  She  has  made  shoulders  specially 
for  the  carrying  of  rifles.    Carry  your  rifle  on  one 


AT  PLATTSBURG  85 

shoulder  or  the  other,  or  hang  them  by  the  straps 
from  one  shoulder  or  the  other.  And  by  no  other 
way."  As  if  they  had  to  obey  him  in  every  little 
thing! 

Then  he  worked  them !  Nothing  satisfied  him. 
At  each  mistake,  a  blast  of  sarcasm.  He  spoke 
of  the  "accordion-pleated  line."  He  gave  a  fling 
at  a  lost  corporal:  "As  soon  as  we  recover  our 
derelict  flanking  squad,  now  about  a  hundred 
yards  ahead."  The  men  came  slinking  back.  He 
withered  one  individual.  "That  belt  is  on  ex- 
actly right.  Except  that  it's  upside  down  and 
inside  out,  it's  exactly  right."  At  whatever  dis- 
tance he  went,  I  could  hear  every  word.  And 
whenever  the  company  came  close,  I  could  hear 
the  men  in  the  ranks,  murmur,  murmur,  murmur. 
You  can't  treat  such  men  so.  Of  course  they're 
disgusted  with  him. 


Sep.  15. 

Such  a  himailiation  today!  And  such  a  dis- 
covery !  I  suppose  you  didn't  tell  me  that  Dick 
was  here  because  you  thought  I'd  prefer  not  to 
know  it.  We're  perfectly  aware  of  each  other's 
neighborhood  now.    This  is  the  way  of  it. 

This  afternoon,  being  tired  of  the  continual 
drilling  on  the  parade  ground,  I  slipped  away 
before  it  could  begin,  and  leaving  the  Colonel  at 
his  nap,  went  walking  out  a  gravel  road  that  I've 
for  some  time  wished  to  explore.     It  took  me 


S6  AT  PLATTSBURG 

along  a  rather  desolate  tract  of  scrub  land,  with 
nothing  ahead  but  the  distant  Adirondacks;  so 
at  last,  seeing  a  little  hill  to  the  left,  I  thought  I'd 
try  if  I  could  see  the  lake  from  it,  and  perhaps  sit 
there  awhile  in  quiet.  I  struck  out  across  this 
piece  of  very  desolate  country,  with  Httle  bushes 
growing  but  no  grass,  not  good  for  pasture  nor 
for  anything  but  one  purpose  which  I  didn't  then 
suspect.  Soon  I  found  myself  walking  along  a 
ditch  which  kept  cutting  me  off  from  the  hill,  a 
ditch  in  the  driest  of  sandy  land  and  as  deep 
as  my  chin,  aU  shored  up  with  cut  poles,  or  some- 
times with  plank,  or  with  bimdles  of  twigs,  or 
with  willow  basket  work.  And  then  I  saw  it  was 
a  trench ! 

The  Plattsburgers  must  have  made  it.  It  ran 
all  about,  experimentally.  It  had  here  a  shelter 
of  sandbags,  there  a  dugout,  there  a  kitchen. 
It  was  made  in  different  ways  to  show  how  to  use 
material,  I  suppose.  Really  it  was  very  clever. 
And  then  when  I  came  too  near  it  at  one  place, 
to  study  it,  the  rotten  wood  gave  way  with  me, 
and  so  as  not  to  have  to  fall  I  was  forced  to  jump, 
right  down  into  it.  And  there  I  was!  When  I 
tried  to  get  up  at  the  half-broken  place,  I  was 
overwhelmed  by  a  shower  of  sand.  Everywhere 
else  the  walls  were  too  high  for  me  to  climb  out. 
So  I  took  to  walking  along  it,  and  it  twisted  all 
around,  with  passages  like  a  maze,  but  nowhere 
a  place  to  climb.  At  one  comer  I  met  a  horrible 
great  snake,  helpless  down  there  too.     But  it 


AT  PLATTSBURG  87 

went  one  way  and  I  went  the  other,  till  I  came  to 
a  little  niche  with  a  cover  overhead,  and  a  loop- 
hole looking  along  the  waste  of  scrub.  Outside 
a  Httle  sign  said,  "Machine-gun  emplacement." 
And  there  I  stood  looking  out  for  a  sign  of  help. 

Then  I  heard  Captain  Kirby's  voice,  no  one 
could  mistake  it,  and  I  was  relieved  till  I  imder- 
stood  what  he  was  saying.  "Less  noise,  men! 
You  couldn't  creep  up  on  a  dead  tree  that  way. 
It  would  hear  you  coming."  The  horrible  thing 
had  all  his  hundred  and  fifty  men  there,  and  in  a 
moment  I  began  to  see  them,  little  glimpses  of 
oHve-drab  pushing  through  the  bushes.  I  heard 
his  voice  again :  "  By  squads  from  the  right ! ' '  then 
corporals'  voices,  then  the  rushing  of  men,  then 
more  corporals  and  more  rushing.  All  the  time, 
from  nowhere  that  I  could  see,  came  a  continual 
clicking — the  absurd  creatures  were  pretending 
to  fire  on  the  trench  where  I  was  standing.  I 
began  to  get  more  glimpses  of  men  running 
stooped  and  throwing  themselves  flat,  heard  the 
captain's  war-horn,  and  a  Httle  further  away  the 
lieutenant's  voice  like  a  bugle. 

For  this  sort  of  playing  soldier  I  suppose  it  was 
really  pretty  well  done.  I  knew  they  were  all  the 
time  coming  nearer,  but  I  couldn't  get  anything 
but  glimpses  of  them.  And  after  a  while  I  knew 
they  were  behind  a  line  of  bushes  some  fifty  yards 
away,  where  I  heard  their  continuous  clicking; 
but  they  showed  only  an  occasional  hat.  Then 
I  heard  the  captain's  voice,  "  Front  rank,  simulate 


88  AT  PLATTSBURG 

&X,  bayonets!"  and  in  a  moment,  full  of  sarcasm: 
"Don't  draw  that  bayonet!  I  said  simulate. 
Don't  you  understand  the  English  language?" 
The  clicking  kept  up  at  only  haK  rate,  and  I  saw 
a  few  riiie  muzzles;  then  the  rear  rank  pretended 
the  same;  then  I  heard  the  order,  "Prepare  to 
charge!"    And  it  was  all  dead  silence. 

There  was  nothing  that  I  could  do  but  peep 
through  my  loophole,  and  think  how  silly  it  all 
was.  I  heard  a  roar  from  the  captain,  an  out- 
burst of  yells,  the  crash  of  the  bushes,  and — 
there  was  the  captain  coming  like  a  buU,  and  a 
long  rank  of  men  risiag  behind  him  and  rolling 
on  toward  me  in  a  wave.  Oh,  Frances  dear,  there 
is  something  awful  about  brute  force !  I  felt  the 
groimd  shake,  the  noise  of  the  shouting  seemed  to 
burst  my  ears,  the  faces  in  front  of  me  were  like 
those  of  angry  demons.  I'm  ashamed  that  their 
toy  soldiering  was  so  real  to  them  that  it  [the 
word  frightened  evidently  crossed  out]  was  too 
much  for  me,  and  I  turned  away  and  put  my 
hands  to  my  ears. 

Then  it  was  all  over.  I  heard  them  crying 
"Halt !"  and  walked  out  into  the  open  trench,  to 
see  a  line  of  men  laughing  and  panting  just 
above  me.  Only  a  few  saw  me  at  first;  the  rest 
were  saying  "That  was  some  charge !"  and  similar 
self-praise.  I  said,  "  Will  you  please  help  me  out  ?  " 
The  men  nearest  me  were  very  respectful.  One 
leaped  down  beside  me,  laid  down  his  gun,  and 
held  his  hands  for  me  to  step  in,  a  blond  man,  a 


AT  PLATTSBURG  89 

real  soldier,  with  flashing  blue  eyes.  Half  a  dozen 
hands  were  held  for  me  above,  and  the  captaia 
came  pushing  in  to  help,  with  such  an  anxious 
face !  But  I  heard  someone  say,  "  Give  me  your 
hand.  Vera!"  and  there  was  Dick!  He  and  the 
blond  man  had  me  out  in  a  moment,  and  Dick 
took  me  through  the  line  and  got  me  quickly  away 
toward  the  road  I  had  left.  I  sent  him  back,  but 
he  would  not  leave  me  till  he  was  sure  I  was  all 
right.  He  was  very  handsome,  and  grave,  and 
respectful.  And  oh!  wasn't  it  all  stupid?  I  am 
disgusted  with  the  whole  Tenth  Training  Regi- 
ment, but  more  disgusted  with  myself. 


Extract  from  Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter, 
OF  THE  Same  Date 

.  .  .  The  fellows'  eyes  popped  as  I  took  Vera 
through  the  line.  She  is  a  stunner !  I  saluted  the 
captain  when  I  went  back,  and  he  did  not  ask 
me  to  explain  why  I  took  so  much  on  myself, 
though  the  lieutenant,  who  came  too  late,  I  think 
was  furious  with  me.  We  yanked  Knudsen  out 
of  the  trench,  and  the  captain,  forming  us  in-" 
stantly,  marched  us  away  in  the  direction  that 
Vera  didn't  take.  When  he  gave  us  rest  she  was 
clean  out  of  sight,  and  we  lay  down  in  the  bushes 
and  loafed  for  a  while. 

Nobody  in  the  squad  asked  me  a  question. 
Young  David's  face  was  a  study  in  ignorance, 
but  of  course  it  was  he  who  let  the  others  know 
that  I  was  to  be  let  alone.  From  his  squad  Ran- 
dall began  to  throw  remarks  at  me,  but  Pickle 
turned  on  him  very  savagely.  "Oh,  yap,  yap, 
yap!"  Captain  Kirby  when  he  went  by  looked 
at  me  very  intently,  and  I  looked  straight  back  at 
him.  But  I  couldn't  look  at  any  of  the  other 
fellows.  Curious  that  a  man  feels  so  self-con- 
scious. You  women  know  how  to  pretend,  but 
few  of  us  seem  to  manage  it. 

Yet  I  wasn't  sorry  it  came  about  so.  The 
squad  stands  together  on  anything  that  happens 
to  any  one  of  us.    I  felt  proud  to  belong  to  it. 

90 


AT  PLATTSBURG  91 

When  we  marched  back  and  had  got  to  the  main 
road  again,  the  captain  disappeared;  it  was  the 
Heutenant  who  got  us  to  camp  and  dismissed  us 
there.  I  knew  where  the  captain  went  when 
after  this  evening's  mess  I  was  ordered  to  go  to 
his  tent.  He  was  writing  there,  and  turned  round 
when  I  scratched,  which  is  a  little  way  we  have  in 
the  army,  as  there  is  no  way  of  knocking.  I 
saluted. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Godwin,"  said  he,  returning  my 
salute.  "Miss  Wadsworth  sends  a  message. 
You're  to  come  to  see  her  this  evening,  after  gen- 
eral conference." 

"I  was  planning  to  go  to  company  conference, 
sir,"  said  I. 

I  suppose  she  knew  I  would  say  that,  for  he  was 
ready  for  me.  "She  made  it  an  order,  Mr.  God- 
win," said  he,  very  gravely. 

"Very  well,  sir,"  said  I,  saluted  again,  and  left 
him  writing — or  pretending  to.  I  suppose  she's 
got  him,  like  the  rest  of  them. 

When  I  called  on  Vera  we  were  very  proper, 
and  very  old-friendly,  and  radically  different  in 
our  ideas,  as  it  seems  destined  for  us  to  be.  I 
told  her  how  much  I  liked  the  training,  and  she 
said  how  much  she  disapproved  of  it,  and  so  we 
passed  the  time.  Once  she  insisted  on  telling  me 
all  about  what  her  sister  Frances  is  doing  now. 
Then  officers  began  to  come  in,  and  to  chat  with 
the  old  colonel  in  the  next  room,  and  glance 
through  the  door  at  us,  as  if  saying,  "When  is 


92  AT  PLATTSBURG 

that  dam  rookie  going  to  go?'*  So  I  left.  It  was 
nearly  time,  anyway,  for  me  to  be  tucked  up  in 
bed  like  a  good  little  boy,  and  leave  the  field  to 
my  betters. 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Saturday  evening,  Sept.  l6. 
At  the  company  tent. 

Dear  Mother: — 

We  have  just  come  back  from  general  confer- 
ence, a  nightly  occurrence  except  in  bad  weather. 
Tonight,  because  it  was  cold,  the  men  went 
grumbling  and  tardy,  having  put  on  sweaters 
under  their  blouses,  and  the  wise  ones,  on  account 
of  the  recent  rains,  bringing  something  to  sit  on. 
In  default  of  anything  better  a  legging  will  do, 
sUpped  off  when  we  are  on  the  ground.  Our 
speaker  tonight  told  us  of  army  law,  too  tech- 
nical for  me  to  make  it  interesting  to  you.  Some 
speakers  have  hard  work  in  making  their  subjects 
interesting  to  us,  not  that  these  are  dull,  but  that 
the  speakers  are.  Said  Corder  to  me  after  one 
such,  "When  I  was  a  Simday  School  superinten- 
dent I  let  no  one  speak  to  the  school  that  hadn't 
something  to  say."  Yet  on  the  whole  I  am  sur- 
prised how  well  the  officers  can  give  us  the  gist  of 
their  subjects. 

Our  best  speaker  so  far  (excepting  always  the 
General,  who  has  a  way  of  getting  at  us  that  ex- 
plains his  success)  was  a  youngish  doctor,  who 
gave  us  a  plain  talk  concerning  personal  hygiene. 
When  he  spoke  of  cleanliness,  briefly  referring  to 
it  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  thought  of  a  man  whom 
I  had  seen  on  the  beach  that  afternoon,  Wednes- 

93 


94  AT  PLATTSBURG 

day,  looking  at  his  feet  and  exclaiming  in  disgust: 
"Look  at  them!  And  I  washed  them  Monday 
morning!''  Some  of  our  lads,  who  come  here 
with  expenses  paid  by  their  employers,  have  a 
little  to  learn  in  this  particular. 

But  to  return  to  our  doctor.  He  was  very 
jocose,  expressed  himseK  in  perfectly  decent  men's 
slang,  and  kept  us  laughing  with  him  all  the  time, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  drove  home  his  advice. 
And  yet  it  was  very  striking  how  once,  not  disre- 
spectfully, the  men  laughed  at  him.  While  speak- 
ing of  our  diet  he  said,  "  I  advise  you  to  eat  freely 
of  the  excellent  fruit  provided  at  the  camp 
table."  Now  with  us  fruit,  cooked  or  raw,  is 
almost  lacking,  and  nothing  exasperates  me  quite 
so  much,  when  I  remember  the  wonderful  apples 
that  were  just  ripening  at  home,  as  to  see  the 
small  bruised  insipid  fruit  that  they  serve  us  here. 
So  the  men  began  to  laugh,  quietly  at  first;  but 
the  laughter  rippled  from  one  end  of  the  crowd  to 
the  other,  and  then  rose  in  waves,  and  then 
boomed  louder  and  louder,  in  one  great  hearty  roar. 
Whether  or  not  the  doctor  saw  the  point,  it  was 
worth  taking. 

Today  we  went  on  outpost  duty,  posting  our 
squads  at  proper  vantage  points  along  the  further 
edge  of  our  old  familiar  field,  beyond  the  trenches 
where  Vera  was  trapped.  The  Heutenant  took  us 
out,  explaining  as  he  went,  dropping  a  squad  on 
every-other  rise  of  the  ground,  and  leaving  its 
corporal  to  post  his  men.    Soon  we  were  strung 


AT  PLATTSBURG  95 

out  along  half  a  mile  of  rough  country,  a  railroad 
in  our  front,  and  beyond  it  the  enemy's  territory. 
Looking  from  oiu:  vantage-point  it  was  hard  to 
suppose  that  the  barren  pasture  was  hiding  all 
oiu:  men.  Of  them  we  saw  but  two,  an  advance 
post  lying  on  the  hither  side  of  the  railroad  em- 
bankment, peering  over  the  top,  and  our  squad's 
own  foremost  man  at  his  place  where  he  could 
command  a  railroad  cut.  The  rest  were  hidden 
in  Uttle  hollows,  in  scattered  clumps  of  pine,  or 
in  patches  of  scrub  oak.  After  a  while  along 
came  the  visiting  patrol,  directed  by  each  squad 
onward  to  the  next,  and  so  covering  the  whole 
front.  And  last  came  the  captain,  inspecting 
each  post,  and  when  he  was  satisfied,  sending  us 
back  with  orders  to  pick  up  the  rest  of  our  platoon 
and  re-form  by  the  trenches.  An  incident  of 
this  short  march.  Randall,  when  we  routed  out 
Squad  Six,  produced  his  last  cigarette.  His 
front  rank  man  asked  him  for  half.  "No  one 
divides  a  cigarette,"  said  Randall,  borrowed  a 
match  from  the  man,  and  lighted  the  cigarette 
himself.  Our  Lucy,  after  watching  this  in  silent 
amazement,  took  out  his  cigarette-box,  found  he 
had  but  one  smoke,  and  handed  it  over.  Really, 
if  he  becomes  a  man  Randall  should  have  half  of 
the  credit. 

This  afternoon  we  have  at  last  made  a  begin- 
ning on  another  part  of  our  work,  the  use  of  the 
rifle.  Some  few  days  ago  the  captain  called  for 
those  of  us  who  had  used  high-powered  rifles; 


96  AT  PLATTSBURG 

he  has  since  been  weeding  them  out,  till  he  has  a 
couple  of  dozen  of  them  to  use  as  coaches.  To- 
day we  went  "on  the  galleries,"  which  is  a  con- 
venient phrase  for  the  use  of  small-bore  rifles 
against  small  targets  at  short  range.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  drill  field  we  himg  oh  wires  small 
wooden  frames  on  which  were  tacked  paper 
targets;  behind  was  the  low  railroad  embankment, 
behind  that  the  lake.  Our  rifles  were  in  every 
detail  like  the  service  pieces,  except  the  smaller 
bore.  We  used  dummy  cartridges  as  long  as  the 
gun  usually  requires,  but  so  made  as  to  receive 
much  smaller  cartridges,  carrying  weak  charges 
of  powder — if  you  understand  the  lingo,  they  were 
"22  shorts.''  One  gang  of  us  was  kept  at  work 
perpetually  loading  these  gallery  cartridges,  and 
assembling  them  in  cHps  of  five;  another  gang  was 
steadily  tacking  new  targets  on  the  frames;  and 
bimch  by  bunch  we  were  moved  from  these  duties 
to  the  more  interesting  one  of  shooting  the  car- 
tridges and  spoiling  the  targets. 

Since  our  recent  talk  in  the  gymnasium  we  have 
been  practising,  at  all  odd  minutes,  how  to  hold 
and  sight  the  guns,  and  how  to  pull  the  trigger. 
Never  before  coming  here  had  I  heard  of  the 
squeeze,  in  which  (of  another  kind)  all  army  men 
are  popularly  supposed  to  be  proficient  by  nature, 
but  which  here  is  technically  a  special  study. 
The  greenhorn  naturally  supposes  that  all  he  has 
to  do  with  the  gim  is,  like  Stephen  in  the  classic 
rhyme,  to  "p'int  de  gim,  pull  on  de  trigger." 


AT  PLATTSBURG  97 

But  since  the  ordinary  pull  is  a  jerk  that  affects 
the  aim,  some  genius  has  invented  the  new 
method.  So  we  are  taught  first  to  grip  the  small 
of  the  stock  with  the  full  hand,  the  thumb  along 
the  side,  and  with  the  forefinger  to  take  up  the 
slack  of  the  trigger  till  it  engages  the  mechanism, 
and  then  to  take  a  little  more,  till  presently  the 
gun  will  go  off.  At  this  point,  while  using  the 
sling  to  secure  a  good  aim,  the  shooter  should 
squeeze,  that  is,  he  should  slowly  and  steadily 
contract  his  whole  hand,  all  the  fijigers  together, 
till  in  a  moment — ^Bang  1 

It  soimds  so  easy ! 

On  the  galleries,  then,  we  were  tested  for  our 
understanding  of  this  new  art.  The  size  of  the 
target  and  the  distance,  considered  in  relation  to 
the  power  of  the  two  rifles,  were  about  equal  to 
service  conditions  at  five  hundred  yards.  The 
weight  and  size  of  the  gun  made  the  test  a  fair 
one.  We  tried  out  the  two  chief  postures,  sitting 
and  prone,  and  had  both  slow  and  rapid  fire,  or 
as  the  captain  prefers  to  say,  slow  and  deliberate. 

These  are  summaries  and  general  facts.  Per- 
sonal details  are:  long  service  in  the  two  gangs, 
long  waits  for  my  turn,  and  five  minutes  with 
the  gim.  "Be  sure  to  shoot  on  Number  Twelve 
target,"  warned  the  coach  as  he  helped  me  ad- 
just the  sling.  "Now  get  your  position  right. 
Now  put  in  the  clip.  And  now  remember  your 
squeeze."  I  was  trying  slow  fire,  handling  a  gun 
for  the  first  time  since  I  was  a  boy.    "The  top  of 


98  AT  PLATTSBURG 

the  U  of  the  open  sight  an  inch  below  the  bull," 
chanted  the  coach.  "But  the  bullseye,"  I  com- 
plained, "dances  all  about."  "Of  course,"  said 
the  coach.  "Make  it  dance  less,  hold  as  steady 
as  you  can,  squeeze  when  the  front  sight  is  under 
it. — ^There,  you  jerked !"  So  I  did,  but  I  squeezed 
a  Uttle  better  as  time  went  on,  till  I  was  pretty 
sure  I  was  doing  all  right.  The  gun  didn't  kick, 
and  by  my  tenth  shot  I  was  fairly  steady.  I 
gave  up  the  gun  after  making  sure  it  was  empty, 
waited  till  all  the  rest  had  finished,  and  at  the 
order  we  walked  forward  with  new  targets,  hung 
them  in  place  of  the  old,  tore  ours  off  the  frames, 
and  gave  the  frames  over  to  the  tacking  squad, 
while  at  the  same  time  trying  to  compute  our 
scores  before  we  filed  up  to  the  captain. 

I  was  amazed  and  disgusted  to  find  that  three 
of  my  shots  had  missed  the  target  quite.  To  the 
captain,  as  he  studied  my  target,  I  expressed  my 
mortification.  "What  target  were  you  shooting 
on?"  he  asked,  in  the  lingo  proper  to  our  trade. 
I  answered  "Nimiber  Twelve."  "Three  shots 
shy,"  said  the  captain,  "and  here's  Number 
Fourteen  lacking  two  hits.  Where's  Number 
Thirteen?"  "Here,  sir,"  said  Bannister,  "and 
there's  fifteen  shots  in  my  target."  "Then  three 
are  mine,"  said  I.  "And  two  are  mine,"  said 
Number  Fourteen.  My  shooting  hadn't  been 
very  good,  threes  and  fours,  with  only  one  bull. 
Bannister  had  nine  bullseyes,  some  of  which  I 
may  have  made;  but  he  was  privileged  to  count 


AT  PLATTSBURG  99 

all  the  best  shots  on  his  score. — I  know  now  a 
little  more  about  target  shooting  than  merely 
holding  the  gun. 

Tomorrow  we  are  to  have  more  of  this,  although 
it  is  Sunday.  The  captain  has  given  us  our  eve- 
ning to  ourselves,  and  has  asked  us  {asked,  you 
notice,  for  our  Sunday  afternoon  is  our  own)  to 
give  him  the  time  tomorrow.  He  has  the  repu- 
tation, I  am  told,  of  always  making  his  company 
the  best  at  rifle  shooting.  And  if  he  works  us, 
he  is  also  working  himself. 

This  spell  of  cold  weather  which  has  followed 
our  rains  and  is  going  to  make  life  quite  different 
for  us,  has  this  evening  driven  everyone  from 
the  company  tent  except  myself,  who  sit  here 
wrapped  in  a  blanket  to  my  waist,  finishing  this 
letter.  There  has  been  a  very  pleasant  little 
group  of  us  here,  using  each  other's  ink,  inter- 
rupting our  work  to  stop  and  chat,  showing  each 
other  our  photographs.  And  perhaps  I  had  better 
explain  why  it  is  that  I  have  appeared  in  two  or 
three  of  the  camp  scenes  which  I  have  already 
sent  you.  There  is  here  an  official  photographer, 
who  sends  out  camera  men  to  take  us  in  all  sorts 
of  occupations — on  the  skirmish  line,  on  parade, 
cleaning  our  teeth  or  our  rifles,  marching,  sky- 
larking. The  pictures  are  all  of  the  post-card 
size,  and  in  due  course  are  exhibited  at  the  studio, 
where  we  go  and  inspect  and  buy.  He  is  always 
out  of  pictures  of  Ueutenants,  captains,  the  gen- 
eral, and  other  popular  subjects.    But  by  perse- 


loo  AT  PLATTSBURG 

verance  and  patient  waiting  one  can  accumulate 
a  record  of  his  life  here.  Luck  will  put  a  fellow, 
on  an  average,  into  a  few  groups  a  week,  as  you 
see  in  the  ones  I  have  sent  you. 

I  am  shivering.  The  captain  has  promised  us 
another  blanket  for  tomorrow,  and  there  are 
rumors  of  an  issue  of  overcoats.  At  this  rate  we 
shall  need  them. 

Love  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Sunday  evening  the  17th. 

Dear  Mother: — 

Not  a  minute  for  writing  all  day,  and  yet  I 
have  been  idle,  idle,  idle.  My  own  personal 
work  began  very  early,  for  I  got  up  about  quarter 
of  five,  took  my  shower-bath  in  the  shivering 
dawn,  and  then,  while  the  camp  was  just  begin- 
ning to  stir,  and  when  I  had  the  bucket  and 
spigot  to  myself,  I  washed  out  shirt,  underclothes, 
stockings,  handkerchiefs,  and  pajamas.  The  water 
was  painfully  cold,  and  often  I  had  to  stop  and 
warm  my  hands  in  my  sweater.  But  I  got  the 
work  done,  and  hung  the  clothes  on  the  lines, 
knotted  together,  that  are  used  to  regulate  the 
caps  on  tents  8  and  10.  The  clothes-pins  were 
most  useful,  for  the  wind  blew  strongly  all  day, 
and  many  a  piece  of  laundry  went  sailing  off  to 
leeward.  Inspection  compelled  me  to  take  the 
things  in  once,  but  I  got  them  out  again,  and  in 
the  evening  I  had  the  pleasure  of  putting  on 
again,  dry,  the  pajamas  that  I  washed  in  the 
morning.  I  never  should  have  been  able  to  fold 
them  properly  for  stowing  away. 

Our  inspection  was  very  formidable  this  morn- 
ing, for  the  major  was  expected,  and  the  captain 
came  down  the  street,  and  in  his  mildest  voice 
gave  strictest  orders.  Washing  was  taken  in, 
extra  clothes  were  taken  down  from  tent-poles, 

lOI 


I02  AT  FLATTSBURG 

and  teMs*  wefiJ  mad^*  perfectly  neat  inside  and 
out.  I  was  tent-policeman  for  the  day,  but  my 
job  was  light,  for  everyone  was  concerned  to  have 
the  place  look  well,  and  picked  up  round  his  cot, 
borrowed  the  broom  and  wielded  it,  and  laid  out 
his  kit  in  the  best  of  order.  From  the  next  tent 
we  heard  Randall  in  his  usual  controversy  with 
his  squad,  refusing  to  help  his  neighbor  roll  up 
the  walls  of  the  tent,  and  loudly  complaining 
when  his  washing  and  his  rubber  coat  were  thrown 
on  his  cot  with  orders  to  put  them  out  of  sight. 
But  in  spite  of  himself  he  was  compelled  to  share 
in  the  housecleaning.  Outside,  the  street  was 
policed  of  every  cigarette-butt  and  scrap  of  pa- 
per, and  then  the  two  police  squads,  with  rakes 
and  brooms,  went  down  the  whole  length  of  it 
and  made  it  as  orderly  as  a  garden  walk. 

Then  at  command  we  lined  up  outside  the  tents, 
dressed  in  two  lines  down  the  street,  facing  each 
other.  Down  this  aisle  came  the  Major,  glancing 
keenly  about,  and  peering  sharply  into  each  tent. 
Of  our  corporal  he  asked  if  we  had  blankets  enough. 
Captain  Kirby  came  next  with  the  first  sergeant, 
and  carefully  inspected  each  tent.  Then  he  called 
us  aU  together  in  a  circle,  said  that  the  major  had 
been  unusually  pleased  with  us;  a  man  of  few 
words,  he  has  seldom  praised  a  company  so 
heartily.  This  set  us  all  up.  Then  the  captain, 
for  his  own  part,  gave  us  his  thanks,  told  us  we'd 
done  well,  and  apologized  for  working  us  so  hard. 
"I  know  you  hate  me  like  the  devil  for  it,"  he 


AT  PLATTSBURG  103 

said,  "but  you're  coming  on  finely."  And  he 
sent  us  to  the  galleries  for  more  practice.  We 
went  in  some  surprise  at  his  opinion  of  himself. 
"Hate  him  like  the  devil?"  exclaimed  Corder. 
"ThedevHwedo!" 

The  waiting  on  the  drill-field  became  very 
tedious.  So  poor  is  oiu:  equipment  that  we  have 
but  eighteen  gallery  rifles  for  our  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  and  it  was  nearly  an  hoiu:  before  I  got 
my  first  try.  My  score  this  time  was  the  reverse 
of  yesterday,  for  I  got  fifty-four  out  of  a  possible 
fifty,  one  himdred  and  eight  percent !  That  was 
because  there  were  thirteen  holes  in  the  paper, 
someone  having  presented  me  with  the  extra 
three.  Coimting  all  the  best  shots  as  my  own, 
my  official  score  was  42;  yet  none  of  the  shots 
were  outside  the  second  ring,  and  at  worst  my 
score  was  39. 

In  the  afternoon  my  pride  had  a  fall,  for  after 
the  same  tedious  wait  I  fired  my  ten  roimds  at 
the  target.  This  time  I  fired  prone,  both  cHps 
within  two  minutes.  This  position,  flat  on  my 
belly  with  my  legs  apart  (in  our  close  quarters  it 
was  difficult  not  to  kick  my  neighbor,  ana  destruc- 
tive of  aim  to  have  him  kick  me)  with  my  elbows 
under  me  and  the  gun,  and  my  head  bent  back, 
is  in  itself  hard  enough  to  maintain  during  a 
single  shot.  But  for  rapid  fire  the  process  is 
thus.  After  the  first  shot  the  gun  is  kept  at  the 
shoulder,  the  muzzle  sHghtly  lowered  and  turned 
aside  to  give  the  right  hand  a  chance  to  work; 


I04  AT  PLATTSBURG 

I  grasp  the  bolt  handle,  turn  it  up,  pull  it  back 
full  length,  shove  it  sharply  home,  turn  it  down, 
and  thus  have  reloaded.  Then  again  I  must  sight 
the  gun,  be  sure  not  to  cant  it,  be  sure  not  to 
have  my  eye  too  close  to  the  cocking  piece,  must 
get  the  sights  right,  hold  steady,  and  squeeze.  All 
this  on  a  ten  seconds'  average.  After  the  fifth 
shot  there  is  a  change,  for  the  gim  must  be  taken 
from  the  shoulder  and  the  fresh  clip  inserted. 
Then  five  more  shots  at  the  same  rate.  No  wonder 
that,  though  all  these  days  I  have  been  hardening 
my  elbows  and  toughening  my  neck,  at  the  end  of 
my  ten  shots  I  fell  over  gasping. 

And  my  luck  was  bad.  First  my  clip  would  not 
go  easily  into  the  gim,  and  made  me  feel  hurried. 
Next  a  cartridge  jammed,  and  lost  me  ten  sec- 
onds. Then  out  of  the  ten  cartridges  four  missed 
fire,  which  put  me  off  my  aim.  My  coach  was 
ready  with  more,  but  they  had  to  be  loaded  singly, 
and  I  had  time  to  fire  only  a  total  of  eight,  making 
a  miserable  score  of  sixteen.  The  captain,  after 
briefly  scanning  my  target,  told  me  that  I  was 
aiming  too  low.  After  another  long  wait  I  had 
another  chance;  but  this  time  I  was  thoroughly 
chilled  by  the  wind  that  had  been  blowing  through 
us  all  the  afternoon.  Then  the  worn  cartridges 
and  the  old  breech  mechanism  behaved  badly 
again,  and  though  by  following  the  captain's  hint 
I  did  better,  making  27,  it  was  very  imsatisfac- 
tory.  The  officers  hope  for  more,  and  new,  gal- 
lery rifles.     Without  them  it  is  difficult  to  give 


AT  PLATTSBURG  105 

us  good  preliminary  practice.  For  all  this,  you 
know,  is  to  get  us  ready  to  shoot  with  the  service 
rifle. 

Many  of  us  came  shivering  off  the  field,  and 
huddled  in  our  tents  with  our  new  extra  blankets 
around  us  till  we  warmed  up  again.  But  very 
few  of  the  men  failed  to  turn  up  at  this  volunteer 
practice,  and  to  stay  it  through  on  the  chance  of 
one  more  round.  In  the  whole  company  there 
were  but  six  who  sHpped  away  to  pleasures  in 
the  town.     One  of  them  was  Randall. 

I  am  warm  now,  and  fed.    Love  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Monday  the  i8th  September,  5.40  A.  M, 

On  my  cot,  while  the  others 

sit  about  and  chat. 

Dear  Mother: — 

The  reason  why  the  others  sit  and  chat,  and 
why  I  have  time  to  write,  is  this.  Young  David, 
fresh  from  his  shave  (which  he  has  learned  to  do 
at  speed,  and  without  injury,  and  is  very  proud  of) 
came  into  the  tent  and  said:  "We  have  ten  min- 
utes for  making  up  our  packs  before  mess." 
"Lucy,"  said  Kjiudsen,  "there's  a  chance  of 
showers.  Why  do  up  packs  that  we  may  have  to 
undo  again?"  So  David  is  poHshing  his  shoes 
(hkewise  a  new  art  with  him)  and  Pickle  is  sewing 
on  a  button,  and  they  all  are  talking,  while  else- 
where, chiefly  in  the  street,  the  men  are  making 
up  their  packs  for  the  morning's  work  that  is 
sure  to  require  them.  And  now  comes  in  Bannis- 
ter, chanting  "Soupy,  soupy,  soupy!"  It  is  time 
for  mess. 

— ^And  now,  forty-five  minutes  later,  the  whole 
company  is  at  work  .over  the  packs,  most  of  the 
squads  grumbling,  but  we  very  happy,  for  it  is 
showering  in  a  dispirited  way,  and  the  order  is, 
"Ponchos  out  of  the  packs!"  Wise  Kjiudsen, 
and  fortunate  Squad  8 !  Now  the  next  question 
is,  where  to  carry  the  ponchos — in  the  two  lower 
straps  of  the  pack?    Everybody  gives  everybody 

106 


AT  PLATTSBURG  107 

else  his  opinion.  The  word  comes  down  the  street, 
"Carry  them  as  you  please."  So  mine  is  looped 
in  the  strap  that  supports  my  belt,  and  the  pack 
is  slung.  And  while  everyone  else  is  adjusting 
his  pack,  or  dropping  the  sides  of  the  tent  near 
his  cot,  or  loosening  the  tent  guy-ropes,  I  scratch 
this.^ — Now  the  bugle,  and  the  whistle,  and  the 
last  hasty  running  and  calls,  and  in  a  moment  we 
shall  be  assembled,  each  with  ten  blank  cartridges 
in  his  belt  (the  first  time  we  have  had  them)  and 
shall  be  off  in  the  drizzle. 

Evening.    In  my  OVERCOAT  I 

But  it  was  not  many  minutes  before  our 
ponchos  were  on,  for  the  day  was  "open  and 
shut,"  and  sometimes  it  opened  pretty  wide.  In 
our  full  equipment,  ponchos  over  everything,  we 
turned  off  the  main  road,  went  by  new  and  strange 
ways,  and  found  ourselves  for  the  first  time  on 
the  range,  where  we  lined  up  at  the  600  yards 
mark.  As  we  looked  toward  the  butts  the  scene 
was  very  picturesque. 

The  field  was  level,  rising  at  the  further  end  to 
a  low  ridge,  below  which  stood  the  targets.  These, 
seen  through  the  drizzle,  were  but  great  squares 
of  pale  tan  color,  only  slightly  relieved  against 
the  wet  sand  bank.  In  the  middle  of  each  of  them 
I  could  just  see  a  black  dot.  Between  us  and 
them,  three  hundred  yards  away,  was  extended 
a  dark  line  of  men,  with  here  and  there  a  smoking 
fire  around  which  groups  warmed  themselves. 


io8  AT  PLATTSBURG 

From  the  thin  line  came  irregularly  spurts  of 
smoke,  and  the  spattering  of  rifle  shots.  It  re- 
minded me  of  an  old  picture  of  the  field  of  An- 
tietam,  spiritless  in  itself,  but  here  made  alive 
by  the  movement,  the  noise,  the  drifting  smoke, 
and  the  gray  monotone.  I  watched  it  while  the 
captain  explained  tomorrow's  work;  then,  glad 
that  today  had  not  fallen  to  our  lot,  we  marched 
on,  taking  up  our  route  step  in  the  soft  sand  of 
an  old  railroad  bed. 

We  were  glad  of  our  ponchos  when  the  rain  in- 
creased. As  it  poured  down  heavily  we  were  a 
disreputable  lot,  all  streaked  with  the  wet,  our 
hats  slouched,  our  ponchos  bunched  in  every 
direction  with  elbows,  packs,  and  rifles.  The 
rubber  turned  the  cold  wind  and  shed  most  of 
the  rain;  but  as  before,  where  our  knees  touched 
the  ponchos  the  water  came  through,  and  wet  us 
finely.  Then  the  rain  stopped  and  the  clouds 
became  thinner,  but  the  wind  remained  cold; 
and  when  the  captain  slowly  led  us  along  the 
specimen  trenches,  explaining  as  he  went,  we  all 
got  pretty  well  chilled  for  lack  of  motion.  I 
looked  at  David  and  saw  that  he  was  turning  blue. 
The  only  mental  relief  came  when  we  arrived  at 
the  shelter  where  a  few  days  ago  we  found  Vera. 

Corder  looked  at  the  sign  in  front  of  it,  and  read 
it  out.  "  Machine  gun  emplacement !  Very  ap- 
propriate !'* 

I  couldn't  help  smiling,  nor  could  the  rest, 
except  David,  who  for  poHteness  tried  to  be 


AT  PLATTSBURG  109 

blank,  and  thoroughly  warmed  himself  by  the 
inward  struggle,  turning  quite  red.  When  the 
captain  got  us  back  to  the  road  and  "fell  us 
out"  (note  the  idiom!)  we  had  cahsthenics,  with 
pushing  matches  that  put  warmth  into  us.  And 
then  we  marched  in  skirmish  line  through  low 
bushes  for  half  a  mile,  till  the  captain  lined  us  up 
for  blank  cartridge  practice. 

We  had  struck  another  part  of  the  same  aban- 
doned railroad,  from  which  was  plainly  visible,  at 
perhaps  two  hundred  yards,  the  gable  of  a  deserted 
shack.  The  captain  sent  to  it  a  couple  of  men, 
who  tacked  up  a  target  on  it.  Then  first  the 
coaches,  our  experienced  riflemen,  and  after  them 
the  platoons  one  by  one,  came  forward,  every 
man  being  ready  with  his  two  clips  of  blank  car- 
tridges. The  slings  were  adjusted,  each  line  as  it 
came  up  loaded  with  the  first  clip,  and  at  the 
command  "Targets — ^up!"  threw  itself  flat,  took 
position,  and  began  to  fire.  The  lieutenant  called 
out  the  ten  second  intervals.  Proper  firing  would 
bring  the  exhaustion  of  the  first  clip  at  about  one 
minute.  Then  the  second  clip  would  be  inserted, 
and  should  be  finished  with  the  second  minute. 

I  cautioned  my  coach  to  remind  me  to  keep  my 
eye  away  from  the  cocking  piece,  and  after  test- 
ing sling  and  ground,  threw  myself  down  and  got 
into  position  at  the  word.  Well,  it  wasn't  diffi- 
cult to  fire;  though  the  noise  of  the  gim  was  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  gallery  rifle  there  was  no 
recoil;  and  I  tried  to  be  as  steady  as  possible  in 


no  AT  PLATTSBURG 

aiming  and  squeezing.  The  bullseye  was  the  sil- 
houette, Hfe  size,  of  a  man  lying  prone  and  firing 
at  me.  Instructions  were  to  aim  at  the  bottom 
of  the  target,  about  a  foot  below  him.  The  crack 
of  my  neighbor's  piece,  very  loud  and  sharp,  was 
the  most  uncomfortable  part  of  the  performance, 
and  I  shall  shoot  tomorrow  with  cotton  in  my 
ears;  many  decided  likewise.  I  plugged  away 
steadily,  the  ammunition  worked  well,  and  I 
finished  my  second  clip  with  about  fifteen  sec- 
onds to  spare.  Then  I  stood  up  and  brushed 
myself,  with  no  one  to  prove  that  I  had  not  made 
a  perfect  score. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  men  shooting  ten  rounds 
each — that  meant  1500  shells  left  on  the  ground, 
with  300  clips,  all  of  brass.  I  noticed  some  rather 
untidy  figures,  emerging  from  the  miserable  little 
shacks  that  dotted  the  scrub,  slinking  through  the 
brush  in  our  direction  and  gathering  on  the  flanks 
of  our  firing  line,  eight  or  ten  men  and  boys  and 
girls,  one  of  the  latter  carrying  a  baby.  Near  me 
Captain  Kirby  cursed  them  under  his  breath  as 
"human  buzzards,"  and  I  understood  that  these 
camp  followers  had  not  gathered  merely  to  ad- 
mire. As  soon  as  the  last  platoon  filed  off  the 
groimd,  these  persons  sKpped  forward,  and  began 
eagerly  to  pick  up  the  treasure  that  lay  scattered 
there.  With  brass  at  twenty-five  cents  a  poimd, 
war  prices,  they  made  enough,  scratching  in  the 
dirt,  to  keep  them  going  for  the  next  week  or  so. 

Back  to  camp  then,  still  glad  of  our  ponchos^ 


AT  PLATTSBURG  iii 

for  though  there  was  no  more  rain  the  wind  was 
steadily  colder.  Then  the  job  of  cleaning,  with 
one  rod  per  squad,  and  patches  always  few,  our 
fouled  rifles. 

This  afternoon  we  were  taken  to  a  neighboring 
field,  where  in  limited  area  are  samples  of  most 
of  the  miUtary  engineering  devices  approved  by 
modems.  Three  officers  of  the  engineers  in  turn 
took  charge  of  us,  and  showed  us  bridges,  roads, 
entanglements,  dugouts,  rifle  pits,  hand  grenades, 
trench  mortars  (with  real  bombs !)  and  finally  the 
mysteries  of  map-making,  which  for  me  are  prac- 
tical mysteries  still.  Some  glimmer  of  an  idea  I 
now  have  of  how  a  man  with  a  watch  and  compass, 
a  sketching  board  and  paper,  can  make  a  working 
map  of  country  entirely  new  to  him;  but  I  never 
could  do  it  myself.  CaHsthenics  next,  as  almost 
daily;  and  then  instead  of  being  dismissed  for  our 
swim,  which  none  of  us  wanted  in  such  cold,  we 
were  marched  back  to  the  company  street,  where  a 
line  soon  formed  at  the  store  tent,  and  a  magic 
word  was  passed  from  squad  to  squad. 

Overcoats!  Overcoats?  Could  we  believe  it? 
But  a  figure  separated  itseK  from  the  crowd  at 
the  head  of  the  street,  and  came  strutting  toward 
us.  An  army  overcoat,  o.  d.,  and  above  it  the 
grinning  features  of  a  fellow  whom  we  knew  well. 
It  was  true!  And  quickly  we  ourselves  got  into 
line,  coming  at  last  to  the  tent,  where  without 
considering  sizes  the  overcoats  were  handed  out 
just  as  they  came.   After  which  men  went  up  and 


112  AT  PLATTSBURG 

down  the  street  swapping,  the  little  fellows  with 
44s  calling  out  for  36s,  and  the  big  fellows  demand- 
ing 44s.  I  soon  exchanged  my  38  for  a  42,  and 
now,  at  the  camp  tent,  am  comfortably  writing 
in  it.  It  holds  me  sweater  and  all,  blouse  too  if 
necessary;  it  can  cover  the  ears  and  comes  well 
below  the  knees.  Mysteriously — for  I  don't  un- 
derstand these  things — it  has  the  military  cut. 
I  never  felt  so  swell  as  when  I  first  buttoned  it  on. 

There  has  been  no  general  conference  on  ac- 
count of  the  cold,  our  captain  being  the  only  one 
brisk  enough  to  get  overcoats  for  his  men.  But 
company  conference  is  now  due,  and  I  see  the 
captain  coming.  These  nights  on  the  rifle,  always 
the  rifle. 

Love  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Plattsburg,  Tues.  the  igth  September, 

Dear  Mother: — 

We  have  had  a  long  day  on  the  rifle  range,  slow 
fire  at  three  hundred,  five  hundred,  and  six  hun- 
dred yards,  working  for  a  total  of  50  on  each  tar- 
get, and  a  possible  grand  total  of  250  when,  some 
other  day,  we  have  our  two  tries  at  rapid  fire. 
The  work  was  hard  for  some  of  us,  the  coaches 
and  scorers,  exciting  for  the  rest.  The  captain 
worked  hard  from  first  to  last,  trying  to  make  it 
possible  for  us,  with  our  sUght  preparation,  to 
qualify  as  marksmen,  with  a  total  of  160,  or  per- 
haps even  to  do  better,  as  sharpshooters  scoring 
190,  or  as  expert  riflemen  with  210  points.  Our 
new  overcoats,  for  which  we  have  him  to  thank, 
saved  the  Hves  of  many  of  us,  for  there  was  the 
keenest  little  north  wind  blowing.  I  lay  down  in 
mine  once,  and  slept  very  comfortably;  and  all 
the  fellows  were  grateful  for  the  protection. 
There  isn't  a  man  in  the  company  that  hasn't 
done  his  best  today  for  the  captain's  sake,  if  not 
for  his  own. 

Oiu:  company  were  waked  a  little  early,  and 
were  extra  prompt  to  breakfast,  which  was  extra 
good  (eggs  and  bacon!) — again  the  captain's 
foresight.  He  started  us  promptly  for  the  range, 
surely  the  oddest  sight  that  we  have  presented  so 

113 


114  AT  PLATTSBURG 

far.  In  front  went  a  huddle  of  men  with  benches, 
chairs,  and  tables,  lamps  for  blacking  the  sights 
(lest  they  ghtter  and  confuse  the  eye),  the  cap- 
tain's megaphone,  and  the  ammimition.  We  fol- 
lowed at  route  step  in  our  greatcoats,  some  of  us 
carrying  ponchos,  and  except  for  our  rifles  and 
belts,  no  other  equipment.  Discipline  was  re- 
laxed today,  for  the  captain,  hopeful  of  good 
scores,  was  as  gentle  as  a  lamb. 

Of  the  three  dozen  targets  we  had  twelve  for 
our  share,  and  companies  I  and  J  used  the  re- 
mainder. In  front  of  our  section  of  the  line  the 
company  flag  was  set  up,  the  benches  were  placed, 
the  scorers  took  their  seats,  the  platoons  were 
ranged  for  their  turns.  Companies  I  and  J  came 
marching  on,  and  before  very  long  we  were 
rapidly  getting  used  to  the  orderly  disorder  of  the 
range.  The  coaches  were  called  up  for  theu: 
opening  try,  and  suddenly  I  heard  the  order  for 
the  first  round  to  begin.  The  shots  began  to  rap 
out,  sharp  and  heavy. 

Behind  each  set  of  three  targets  a  platoon  was 
stationed.  The  men  stood  and  watched,  or  sat 
and  waited,  or  lay  and  tried  their  squeeze.  Or- 
derlies, sergeants,  and  platoon  commanders  hiu-ried 
to  and  fro.  Loretta  came  to  our  group  and  said 
"Don't  stand  there,  men,  like  a  flock  of  sheep"; 
but  when  we  paid  no  attention,  faded  away.  The 
Captain's  powerful  voice  was  every  few  moments 
heard:  "Another  man  here  on  target  36.  Fleming 
in  hospital?    Then  send  up  the  next  man.    We 


AT  PLATTSBURG  115 

must  waste  no  time."  "Ammunition  here  at  No. 
27."  "Every  man  ready  with  his  score  card  and 
his  score  book."  In  but  a  few  minutes  the  fir- 
ing, which  at  the  first  was  so  noticeable,  became 
a  commonplace,  yet  it  was  worth  Hstening  to. 
From  along  the  line  came  scattered  reports,  like 
the  blows  of  a  heavy  rod  on  very  heavy  carpet, 
now  slowly  separate,  now  close  together,  now 
sharply  double.  In  answer  the  whip-like  echoes 
slashed  out  from  the  woods.  The  drab  men  stood, 
or  sauntered,  or  hurried;  the  figures  of  the  shoot- 
ers lay  prone,  each  with  an  eager  coach  crouching 
over  him,  correcting  his  position,  urging  steadi- 
ness, repeating  "  Squeeze !  Squeeze ! "  Behind  the 
line  sat  scorers  at.  their  wooden  stands,  behind 
them  the  first  sergeant  received  the  records.  The 
company  flags,  marking  the  line  beyond  which 
the  waiting  men  might  not  advance,  flapped 
steadily  in  the  breeze. 

And  in  front  of  all,  three  himdred  yards  away, 
stood  up  the  gray  sandbank,  the  stopper  of  the 
bullets.  Some  shots  went  over,  to  land  in  the 
distant  woods  beyond,  whose  encircling  signs 
warn  all  wanderers  to  keep  out.  "There  are 
hornets  in  those  woods  today,  gentlemen,"  said 
the  captain  yesterday  as  we  passed  beyond  the 
range.  "We  will  keep  away."  There  are  thirty- 
six  blackboards  numbered  in  order,  and  between 
them  are  the  great  targets  of  manila  paper,  with 
their  circles  and  the  heavy  spot  at  the  centre. 
As  a  man  shoots  his  target  sinks,  its  mate  im- 


ii6  AT  PLATTSBURG 

mediately  rises  in  the  same  spot,  and  then  upon 
its  face  appears,  moved  by  the  markers  concealed 
in  the  pit  below,  the  record  of  the  shot.  A  red 
flag  slowly  waved — a  miss! — a  black  cross  on  a 
white  circle,  a  red  disk,  or  best  of  all,  a  white  disk 
that  obliterates  "the  bull."  The  scorers  inter- 
pret. "A  four  at  three  o'clock,"  "a  three  at  nine 
o'clock,"  "a  clean  five,  high  up,"  "a  nipper  four  at 
twelve  o'clock,"  and  with  a  little  chuckle,  "a 
ricochet  five!" 

Over  it  all,  behind  the  butts,  against  the  low 
clouds,  rose  a  silent  blue  hill,  one  of  the  distant 
Adirondacks. 

In  spite  of  our  new  greatcoats  it  grew  chilly 
waiting.  I  took  my  time,  wrote  notes  of  this  for 
you,  listened,  watched.  At  last  I  was  called  to 
the  bench  among  those  whose  turn  was  next. 
There  at  the  smoking  lamp  I  blackened  my  sights, 
and  then  carefully  laying  the  gim  on  the  rack  I 
sat  down,  still  in  my  greatcoat,  and  while  others 
fidgeted  with  impatience,  or  shivered  in  their 
sweaters,  I  remembered  that  after  all  I  was  only 
a  civiHan,  and  remained  calm. 

My  name  being  called  at  last,  I  went  forward 
to  the  Httle  rise  where,  beside  a  white  stake,  I  was 
to  shoot.  I  adjusted  my  sling  and  lay  down  to 
the  left  of  the  stake;  to  the  right  was  Lucy,  tense 
and  pale.  My  coach  was  a  stranger;  his  was  good 
Clay.  My  coach  tried  in  vain  to  get  me  to  take 
the  position  he  preferred;  it  hurt  and  strained  me, 
and  he  gave  up.    As  I  slowly  got  the  position  I 


AT  PLATTSBURG  117 

was  used  to,  working  my  elbows  into  the  sand, 
bracing  my  toes,  keeping  my  body  close  to  the 
ground,  my  left  hand  twisted  in  the  sling  and 
supporting  the  barrel,  my  right  at  the  trigger  and 
stock,  and  my  cheek  at  the  butt,  to  my  left  a 
rifle  heavily  spoke,  and  in  spite  of  cotton  my  ear 
rang.  Then  Lucy  shot.  I  heard  the  scorer  say, 
"Mr.  Famham,  a  miss!"  and  I  chuckled  as  I 
prepared  to  shoot. 

My  coach  knelt  over  me  and  repeated 
"Squeeze!"  I  got  the  sights  in  line,  the  bull  in 
place  above  the  front  sight,  which  was — or  should 
have  been — on  a  line  with  the  top  of  the  U  of  the 
open  sight,  for  I  was  afraid  of  the  peep  sight. 
"Are  you  shooting  on  twenty-eight?"  asked  the 
coach.  I  verified  the  nimiber  of  my  target,  then 
tried  to  hold  the  wavering  muzzle  steady,  and 
for  the  first  time  tightened  my  hand-grip  on  the 
trigger  of  a  rifle  capable  of  killing  at  two  miles. 
It  jumped  sharply  in  my  hands,  I  saw  the  red 
flame  at  the  muzzle  as  I  heard  the  report,  and  felt 
myself  kicked  smartly  in  the  shoulder.  Then, 
spent  with  all  this  tension,  I  relaxed  my  grip  and 
collapsed  on  my  face. 

There  was  a  discouraging  pause  as  I  lay,  wait- 
ing to  hear  the  hit  announced.  Then  the  scorer 
cried  "Mark  Twenty-eight!"  The  man  at  the 
field  telephone  repeated  the  order.  I  knew  the 
fact — at  the  butts  the  marker  had  not  heard  over 
his  head  the  ripping  crack  of  the  bullet,  and  had 
to  be  told  that  I  had  fired.    I  imagined  the  slow 


ii8  AT  PLATTSBURG 

waving  of  the  red  flag.  Then  I  heard  the  scorer 
briefly  announce,  "Mr.  Godwin,  miss!*' 

Well,  I  shot  two  more  shots,  both  on  the  target, 
but  both  poor.  My  coach  did  not  seem  able  to 
help  me.  Then  Clay,  who  in  spite  of  his  work 
with  Lucy  had  kept  an  eye  on  me,  spoke  in  a  low 
voice  to  my  coach,  who  rose  and  departed.  In  a 
moment  the  captain  came,  a  great  reHef  to  me, 
depressed  with  such  failure.  He  looked  at  my 
score,  asked  a  couple  of  questions  as  to  my  sight 
and  aim,  took  the  gun  and  adjusted  the  sights, 
and  stayed  to  coach  me  himself. 

But  this  was  not  Captain  Kirby  of  the  drill 
field,  abrupt  and  peremptory.  He  knelt  beside 
me,  coaxed,  encouraged,  purred.  "Now,  Mr. 
Godwin,  this  time  you  will  do  better."  And 
actually  I  did,  a  four  at  seven  o'clock.  Once  more 
he  adjusted  the  sights  and  gave  advice  as  to  aim. 
"And  squeeze !"  he  said.  "Squeeze!"  I  made  a 
five  at  six  o'clock — only  a  nipper,  but  still  a  bull ! 
Someone  else  coming  for  him,  he  left  me  with  a 
"See,  you're  shooting  better!"  And  I  beheved 
him. 

That  is  what  he  was  doing  all  day,  correcting, 
advising,  giving  confidence.  Every  man  after 
shooting  brought  his  score-book  to  him,  and  was 
told  how  to  improve  his  work.  But  it  was  too 
late  for  me  to  make  a  good  score  on  this  target:  I 
made  but  twenty-two.  Yet  other  men  did  worse, 
nine,  eleven,  and  even  four!  Corder,  disgusted, 
reported  a  twenty.    Knudsen  was  quietly  pleased 


AT  PLATTSBURG  119 

with  his  thirty-nine.  Then  I  hunted  up  David, 
and  found  him  just  as  Randall  approached  with  a 
"Lucy,  what  did  you  make?"  David  acknowl- 
edged a  twenty-one,  and  Randall  gloated  over  his 
own  forty-two.  When  he  had  gone,  I  said  "He 
ought  to  shoot,  being  pure  animal.  He  has  no 
nerves." 

"Hasn't  he?"  demanded  David,  meaning,  "I 
know  he  has."    But  he  would  say  no  more. 

I  found  that  the  men  with  low  scores  were  more 
troubled  about  the  effect  on  the  company  total, 
and  the  captain's  record,  than  they  were  for  their 
own  credit. 

But  as  for  this  game  of  shooting,  it  is  certainly 
a  test  of  nerve.  Nothing  else  can  quite  equal  it 
— the  strain  to  get  position,  to  line  the  sights  just 
right,  to  hold  steady,  and  then  to  squeeze.  By 
me  on  the  firing-line  the  irregular  shots  were  loud 
and  startling,  and  people  were  talking  and  call- 
ing all  around.  Golf,  with  its  reverence  for  the 
man  about  to  play,  is  mild  compared  to  this. 
The  nervous  strain  of  firing  is  greater,  the  bodily 
shock  is  abrupt  and  jarring,  you  have  no  real 
chance  to  make  up  for  a  miss  by  later  brilliance 
or  by  any  luck.  No,  golf  teaches  patience  and  it 
requires  poise,  but — as  played  by  the  ordinary 
man — it  is  no  such  game  as  this. 

And  as  between  the  experts,  target  shooting  is 
still  the  bigger  sport.  The  knowledge  and  judg- 
ment required  to  meet  the  varying  conditions,  the 
steadiness  demanded,  the  fact  that  the  rifleman 


I20  AT  PLATTSBURG 

is  preparing  himself  to  meet  his  country's  greatest 
emergencies — these  put  golf  (and  you  know  I  have 
loved  the  game)  into  the  lower  place. 

I  put  on  my  greatcoat  again,  took  the  nap  that 
longed  to  be  taken,  and  then,  refreshed  and  more 
confident,  went  to  my  next  turn. 

This  was  at  five  himdred  yards.  If  you  will 
consider  that  I  was  shooting  from  our  house  across 
the  meadow,  across  the  raUroad  bridge,  at  a  circle 
twenty  inches  in  diameter  (about  the  size  of  our 
largest  pewter  platter)  you  will  imderstand  my 
task.  But  I  was  fussed  to  begin  with,  for  some- 
one had  taken  my  rifle  from  the  rack,  and  I  had 
therefore  not  blacked  the  sights,  nor  adjusted 
the  sling,  of  the  one  that  I  hastily  borrowed. 
As  I  came  to  the  stand  I  was  met  by  an  artillery 
corporal,  evidently  a  kind  of  super-coach,  who 
curtly  ordered  me  to  do  the  one  thing  and  the 
other,  and  hurried  me  to  my  place.  I  told  him 
how  the  captain  had  wanted  the  sights  set  for 
this  distance;  I  had  put  them  so.  "That  doesn't 
go  here,"  he  said,  readjusted  them  himself,  and 
ordered  me  to  lie  down.  He  was  so  overbearing, 
and  I  was  so  uncertain  of  my  rights,  that  I  took 
my  position  and  fired  my  shot.  A  miss!  He 
blamed  me  severely,  and  in  general  treated  me 
like  the  dirt  under  my  feet.  At  my  next  shot,  a 
poor  two,  he  said,  "There  you  go,  thinking  you 
know  all  about  it,  and  jerking  your  trigger  again." 
I  said,  "On  the  contrary,  I'm  not  used  to  the 
pull  of  this  trigger,  and  the  gun  went  off  before 


AT  PLATTSBURG  121 

I  expected."  From  that  time  on  I  paid  no  more 
attention  to  him,  and  perhaps  from  my  manner 
he  saw  that  it  was  just  as  well  to  let  me  alone; 
but  he  attaicked  the  other  man  on  this  target,  who 
feebly  protested,  and  who  made  a  wretched 
score.  My  score  was  coaxed  along  by  our  com- 
pany coach,  a  nice  chap  named  Haynes,  who  was 
most  interested  and  sympathetic.  As  for  me,  the 
artilleryman  vexed  me  so  that  I  shot  to  kill  him, 
and  by  imagining  him  at  the  target  made  a 
thirty-six. 

It  was  an  entirely  new  sensation,  to  be  so  be- 
devilled by  such  a  man,  and  to  know  that  in  war- 
time I  could  not  reply.  When  at  noon  we  were 
marched  back  to  camp  and  dismissed  I  sought  out 
Haynes  and  asked,  "What  is  your  opinion  of 
that  artillery  coach?"  Said  he,  "I'm  going  to 
speak  to  the  captain  about  him."  "Thanks,"  I 
said.  "You'll  save  me  the  trouble."  And  when 
again  I  came  back  to  the  post  in  the  afternoon, 
though  the  corporal  was  there,  he  was  very  quiet 
and  good. 

This  incident  makes  me  doubt  the  value,  for 
such  volimteers  as  we,  of  the  regular  non-coms 
whom  they  hope  to  have  here  next  year,  if  by 
that  time  the  troops  are  off  the  border.  What 
help  could  such  an  overbearing  conceited  drill- 
master,  with  no  inkling  of  our  difficulties  or  our 
point  of  view,  give  to  such  a  squad  as  ours? 
Would  he  last  a  week  out  of  hospital,  or  we  a 
week  out  of  arrest?     No,  give  us  a  Plattsburg 


122  AT  PLATTSBURG 

veteran  of  one  camp  as  corporal,  and  appoint  as 
sergeants  those  who  have  served  two,  and  we 
shall  come  on  faster.  Further,  more  men  would 
thus  be  trained  for  responsible  positions. 

In  the  afternoon  we  shot  at  600  yards.  We 
now  had  sandbag  rests  for  our  left  hands  (not  for 
our  guns)  and  once  more  the  captain  showed  his 
foresight.  He  had  us  bring  intrenching  shovels 
and  a  dozen  new  burlap  bags,  and  soon  we  were 
provided  with  the  best  sandbags  on  the  range. 
I  had  the  same  nice  Uttle  Haynes  who  had  coached 
me  on  my  second  target.  Unsatisfied  as  I  still 
am  with  my  showing,  I  think  he  drilled  into  me 
some  idea  of  my  errors,  and  my  score  again  im- 
proved, standing  at  forty.  I  feel  better  than  if  it 
had  wavered  up  and  down,  even  if  the  total  had 
been  the  same,  and  can  reasonably  argue  that  if 
the  captain  kept  on  increasing  the  distance,  say 
to  2000  yards,  I  should  make  a  perfect  score. 
But  many  men,  I  find,  did  their  worst  at  this  dis- 
tance, Randall  ending  up  at  24.  Lucy  has  pegged 
steadily  along,  and  got  into  the  thirties. 

The  supper-tables  buzzed  tonight  as  never  be- 
fore, every  man  having  his  tale  to  tell,  generally  a 
tale  of  woe.  Poor  Knudsen  is  very  sore,  as  his 
last  shot  went  into  his  neighbor's  bullseye,  and 
though  the  neighbor  had  finished  shooting,  the 
shot  could  not  be  credited  to  Knudsen.  There 
are  many  other  stories  of  misses  that  spoiled  the 
score,  and  on  the  other  hand  when  a  man  has 
made  a  ricochet  hit  he  is  not  inclined  to  brag  of 


AT  PLATTSBURG  123 

it.  Even  those  who  from  my  point  of  view  did 
very  well  are  a  little  inclined  to  grumble;  and  the 
only  really  satisfied  man  is  Percy  of  Squad 
Nine,  who  holds  today's  record. 

Concerning  Kjiudsen's  miss,  I  now  have  the 
whole  story.  He  had  as  scorer  an  artillery  ser- 
geant who  read  the  flags  through  field-glasses,  and 
was  an  imusually  long  time  in  scoring  the  last  shot. 
At  last  he  said  '*A  bull,"  and  scored  a  five,  which 
gave  Kjiudsen  a  perfect  record;  but  he,  suspect- 
ing something,  made  the  man  admit  that  the 
buUeye  was  in  the  wrong  target.  Knudsen 
changed  the  score  himself,  a  bit  of  personal 
heroism  that  roused  the  wonder  of  Pickle,  who 
told  me  the  tale,  and  ended  "Chee,  I  couldn't 
a  done  it !  " 

Here  is  a  story  of  Lieutenant  Pendleton,  told 
me  by  a  man  who  watched  the  incident.  Our 
top-sergeant  was  scoring  badly  at  six  hundred 
yards,  and  the  lieutenant  said,  "Let  me  try  your 
gun."  So  he  lay  down,  and  without  putting  his 
arm  in  the  sling,  rested  the  gim  on  the  bag,  drew 
it  tightly  into  the  shoulder  by  a  hand-grip  of  the 
strap,  and  fired.  It  was  a  "two  at  one  o'clock," 
which  means  that  the  shot  struck  the  outer  side 
of  the  target  about  the  line,  on  a  clock  face,  be- 
tween one  o'clock  and  the  centre.  "Your  sight 
is  too  high,"  said  he,  and  corrected  it.  Then  he 
tried  again,  and  got  a  "three  at  three  o'clock," 
which  means  that  he  struck  on  the  level  of  the 
bull,  but  stiU  out  at  the  right.    "You  must  cor- 


124  AT  PLATTSBURG 

rect  for  windage,"  said  he  then.  "I'll  give  her 
one  and  a  quarter."  So  once  more,  with  the  same 
rest  and  grip,  he  fired.  Before  the  targets  could 
be  changed  and  the  shot  marked  the  lieutenant 
got\p,  gave  the  gim  to  the  sergeant,  and  walked 
away,  saying,  "That's  a  bull's  eye.  You  can  de- 
pend on  that  sighting,  sergeant."  Then  the  scorer 
called  the  shot.  A  bull's  eye  it  was,  and  the  ser- 
geant went  on  to  shoot  a  string  of  them. 

There  is  some  pleasure  in  being  drilled  by  such 
men  as  our  ofl&cers.  I  wish  you  could  see  the  lieu- 
tenant on  parade,  in  his  best  clothes,  which  some- 
how are  more  becoming  to  him  than  the  undress 
uniform,  in  which  Kirby  shows  best.  Watch 
Pendleton  walking  with  his  springy,  tireless  step, 
always  with  his  eye  on  us.  A  dandy  he  is  then, 
but  one  of  the  fighting  dandies,  an  athlete  in  good 
training,  and  a  man  that  knows  his  business. 

Our  day  was  so  completely  taken  up  by  the 
shooting  that  at  the  end  it  was  too  late  even  for 
Retreat,  and  we  in  the  middle  of  our  washing  up 
watched  the  other  battahon  at  parade,  stood  at 
attention  while  the  band  played  the  Star-Spangled 
Banner,  and  saluted  at  the  end.  I  have  spent 
much  of  the  evening  writing;  and  now,  the  first 
call  having  blown,  the  camp  is  getting  ready  for 
bed.  In  the  inner  company  tent  I  am  left  alone, 
the  other  letter-writers  and  diarists  having  drifted 
away.  In  the  outer,  open  tent,  where  the  confer- 
ences are  held,  three  men  are  sitting  at  a  comer 
of  the  big  table,  still  discussing  their  scores,  their 


AT  PLATTSBURG  125 

rifles,  the  squeeze,  the  kick,  the  serious  mistake 
it  is  to  cant  the  gun.  And  here  is  a_  fact  for  you. 
Captain  Kirby  declares  that  the  rifles  do  not 
kick,  and  in  his  own  case  he  is  probably  right. 
But  I  got  today  a  very  sharp  recoil  each  time  I 
fired,  so  that  by  noon  my  arm  was  lame  to  the 
elbow,  and  my  shoulder  sore.  I  expected  much 
difficulty  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  first  shot  hurt 
consumedly;  but  whether  or  not  I  learned  to  hold 
the  rifle  better,  or  whether  the  gradual  toning  up 
of  my  muscles  is  accustoming  me  to  what  comes, 
the  rest  of  the  kicks  seemed  to  act  as  a  sort  of 
massage,  so  that  I  forgot  about  them,  and  to- 
night I  am  entirely  free  of  lameness. 

Outside,  at  the  head  of  the  company  street,  the 
fire  is  gradually  dying  down.  Wood  is  always 
provided  for  it,  a  hole  is  dug,  the  men  feed  it  as 
long  as  they  please,  and  in  the  morning  the  poHce 
squad,  I  suppose,  smooth  the  ground.  On  benches 
or  on  the  ground  the  men  sii:  about  the  fire,  sing, 
discuss,  or  chat  in  groups.  There  is  in  the  store 
tent  an  easy  chair  made  of  rough  lumber  and 
sacking;  when  the  captain  can  be  induced  to  stay 
after  conference  the  men  bring  it  out,  seat  him 
in  it,  and  make  him  talk.  On  his  own  doings  he 
is  silent,  but  on  the  work  of  the  camp,  the  for- 
mations, drill,  skirmish  work,  patrolling,  outpost 
duty,  and  especially  just  now  the  ways  of  his  be- 
loved tool,  the  rifle,  he  has  much  to  say.  Around 
him  are  men  often  much  older  than  he,  others  who 
in  civil  life  command  several  times  his  pay,  fel- 


126  AT  PLATTSBURG 

lows  who  have  every  luxury  at  command,  as  well 
as  chaps  bred  and  indeed  wedded  to  the  most 
peaceable  pursuits.  But  they  all  are  here  for  a 
purpose;  they  never  talk  patriotism  but  they  all 
act  it;  and  everything  he  can  tell  them  that  bears 
on  their  efficiency  as  soldiers  they  will  pump 
from  him  if  they  possibly  can.  It  is  fine  to  see 
how  they  recognize  in  him  complete  mastery  of 
the  subject  that  occupies  us  all,  and  how  they  sit 
at  his  feet  for  instruction. 

But  he  has  left  us  nearly  half  an  hour  ago,  and 
the  groups  that  remain  are  slowly  separating,  as 
one  by  one  the  men  go  to  their  tents.  I  can  tell 
you  just  what  is  happening  in  ours.  The  lantern 
is  Hghted  and  hanging  on  the  pole.  Clay  is  prob- 
ably finishing  a  letter  to  his  "mother."  Ban- 
nister is  doubtless  already  abed,  but  ready  from 
his  cot  to  add  a  sleepy  jest  to  the  quiet  talk  that 
is  slowly  going  on.  Reardon  is  putting  the  last 
stamps  on  the  sheaf  of  post-cards  that  he  daily 
sends,  for  he,  you  must  understand,  has  more 
correspondents  at  home  than  any  of  the  rest  of 
us.  Rather  big  and  burly,  the  quietest  of  men, 
with  a  very  active  eye  but  very  intensely  com- 
mitted to  the  minding  of  his  own  business,  I  know 
him  to  be  the  most  popular  man  in  his  own  little 
town,  where  as  the  managing  clerk  of  the  grocery 
he  knows  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the 
place.  He  knows  the  taste  of  each,  what  he  habit- 
ually needs  or  demands,  whether  to  trust  or  re- 
quire cash.    He  gets  through  his  day  without  a 


AT  PLATTSBURG  127 

clash  with  anyone.  And  knowing  both  his  cus- 
tomers and  the  market  he  looks  after  the  needs  of 
the  town,  warns  of  a  rise  in  prices,  calls  attention 
to  special  bargains,  advises  to  lay  in  a  stock  of 
this  or  that.  They  miss  him  now  that  he's  gone; 
I  know  it  by  the  pleasure  he  takes  in  the  letters 
and  post-cards  that  come  daily,  bits  from  which  he 
cannot  help  reading  out  to  us — from  the  Civil 
War  veteran  who  half  beheves  in  Plattsburg,  and 
half  doesn't;  the  drug-store  clerk  that  has  to  go 
off  on  his  vacation  alone;  the  "boss"  that  has 
nothing  personal  to  say,  but  quotes  the  market 
changes;  the  neighbor  who  doesn't  quite  venture 
to  trust  to  the  post  the  doughnuts  she  wishes  she 
might  send.  And  nightly  Reardon  sits  on  his  cot 
and  writes  in  the  dim  light  careful  answers  to 
every  message. 

Lucy  and  Corder  are  putting  themselves  to  bed 
most  systematically,  Corder  because  of  his  middle- 
aged  habit,  Lucy  on  account  of  that  aristocratic 
cleanliness  in  which  he  has  been  scrupulously 
bred.  They  have  their  system  and  their  order, 
the  toilet,  the  costimie,  the  making  of  the  bed,  all 
very  careful  and  precise.  Knudsen,  still  dressed, 
is  lolling  on  his  cot  and  jollying;  this  is  the  time  of 
day  when  he  most  comes  out  of  himself,  and  I 
know  that  presently  when  I  approach  the  tent 
it  will  be  his  ringing  tenor  that  I  shall  hear.  He 
is  poking  fim  at  the  others,  cursing  that  last  shot 
on  the  range,  interrupting  Reardon  and  Clay  in 
their  writing,  philosophizing  on  his  favorite  sub- 


128  AT  PLATTSBURG 

ject,  baseball.  Yet  if  you  get  a  little  closer  to 
him  you  find  that  he  has  interests  that  it  takes 
a  little  coaxing  to  disclose:  reKgious  convictions 
that  he  has  changed  with  his  growth,  curious  hard 
business  experiences  that  make  him  declare  that 
he  is  a  self-seeker,  while  you  have  only  to  watch 
him  with  Lucy  to  know  that  he  is  not.  Yet  he 
sedulously  knocks  and  batters  at  every  feminine 
quality  that  the  boy  discloses,  and  wiQ  exagger- 
ate any  statement  if  he  thinks  you  suspect  him 
of  tenderness. 

I  shall  presently  make  a  dash  for  the  tent, 
snatch  my  tooth-brush  and  make  for  the  spigot, 
and  bring  back  a  basin  of  water  for  my  feet. 
Then  Ejiudsen  will  bestir  himself  and  race  me  for 
bed,  at  the  same  time  that  Reardon  lays  by  his 
pen  and  accepts  our  warning.  We  crawl  between 
the  blankets,  nine  over  us  tonight.  I  shall  put 
my  poncho  over  me  next,  and  my  overcoat  on 
that,  and  with  the  tent-wall  looped  up  shall  be 
practically  outdoors. 

Last  of  all  Pickle  will  come  slipping  in  from  some 
rendezvous  with  friends.  He  sleeps  in  his  clothes, 
minus  shoes  and  leggings,  and  he  is  likely  to  be 
curled  up  before  I  am. 

And  then  float  to  us  the  notes  of  Taps.  "Love, 
good  night.  Must  thou  go  . . . ?"  It  is  the  signal. 
The  last  one  of  us  puts  out  the  lantern,  and  it  is 
soon  "Good  night,  boys,"  and  silence.  Usually  I 
go  to  sleep  at  once;  if  not  I  soon  hear  the  feet  of 
two  of  the  sergeants  in  the  street  and  see  the  gleam 


AT  PLATTSBURG  129 

of  their  lantern.  They  come  from  tent  to  tent, 
enter  ours  and  throw  the  light  on  each  cot,  and 
pass  on.  Often  I  hear  from  the  neighboring  tents 
a  sleepy  "Good  night,  sergeant,"  but  never  yet 
the  question  "Who  sleeps  in  that  cot?"  A  high 
average,  then,  of  obedience  to  the  rules.  The 
men  are  here  for  business. 
I  have  lingered  almost  too  long.    Good  night ! 

Dick. 


The  Same  to  the  Same 

Plattsburg,  20th  Sept.,  jgi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

It  promises  today,  Wednesday,  to  be  showery 
once  more,  so  we  are  making  up  our  packs  with 
the  ponchos  out,  ready  for  use.  Post-mortems  of 
yesterday's  scores  are  still  going  on.  The  boys 
are  all  well  and  Uvely,  except  that  I  have  just 
passed  Randall  standing  gloomy  at  the  door  of 
his  tent,  feeling  very  much  insulted  because  some- 
one at  breakfast  called  him  a  grabber.  Apart 
from  him  the  street  is  humming  with  talk,  as  the 
boys  make  up  their  packs  upon  the  hard-trodden 
sand. 

It  is  a  very  amusing  thing,  this  confusion  and 
talk  of  the  street,  as  men  on  errands  make  their 
way  .among  the  kneeling  figures,  the  police  squad 
tries  to  do  its  work,  the  sergeants  pass,  and  jokes 
or  criticism  are  bandied  about.  We  are  becoming 
very  well  acquainted,  except  for  those  who  have 
not  the  habit  of  noticing  their  neighbors.  There 
are  a  couple  of  men  who  have  for  ten  days  sat 
opposite  me  at  table,  and  yet  do  not  know  me 
when  we  meet  outside.  But  most  of  the  men  are 
very  companionable.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  opportunity  has  not  been  very 
great.  Unless  a  man  is  Number  One  or  Nmnber 
Four  in  his  squad,  he  is  likely  to  be  swallowed  up 
by  it.    I  have  felt  very  fortunate  to  be  Number 

130 


AT  PLATTSBURG  131 

One,  for  in  all  formations  in  line  I  stand  beside  a 
man  of  another  squad,  and  whenever  we  fall  in 
or  stand  at  rest  I  chat  with  them.  Since  Ban- 
nister has  neglected  the  advice,  given  by  the  cap- 
tain, to  shift  the  men  about,  I  am  glad  that  I 
have  had  this  advantage,  and  am  more  lucky  in 
getting  a  wider  acquaintance  than  is  possible  to 
some  of  the  others.  For  as  you  have  seen,  we  eat 
together,  march  together,  dress  and  sleep  together, 
the  squad  being  the  unit  on  which  everything  is 
based.  Captain  Kirby  has  said  that  when  we 
rest  on  the  hike  squads  must  sit  down  together, 
so  as  to  waste  no  time  in  falling  in. 

But  the  shooting  has  done  a  great  deal  to 
break  down  this  isolation.  It  was  impossible,  on 
the  range  or  the  gallery,  to  keep  the  squads  to- 
gether, whether  in  shooting  or  in  wailing.  The 
men  compared  their  scores,  explained  their  mis- 
takes, gave  advice,  and  fished  for  sympathy, 
with  everyone  they  met.  Men  in  squads  widely 
separated  in  the  line  got  quite  chimimy  over  their 
misfortimes,  and  grew  friendly  in  encouraging  each 
other.  The  scorers  and  especially  the  coaches  met 
many  new  men.  So  at  the  table  and  the  camp- 
fire  the  talk  is  now  much  more  personal,  and  I 
think  that  from  this  time  on  the  company  will  be 
more  of  a  unit  in  feeling,  if  not  more  in  imison  in 
driU. 

On  this  last  point  Captain  Kirby  is  certainly 
imanimous.  The  shooting,  with  its  necessary 
disorder,  has  got  us  out  of  our  habits  of  snap. 


132  AT  PLATTSBURG 

and  today  we  have  been  put  through  a  course  of 
sprouts  that  has  taken  away  any  conceit  that  we 
might  have  had.  This  morning  he  gave  us  ten 
rounds  of  blank  cartridges  and  took  us  out  into 
our  usual  ground,  the  Peru  road  and  the  fields 
adjoining.  First,  in  anticipation  of  tomorrow, 
by  platoons  we  were  given  rapid-fire  practice, 
sitting  and  firing  our  ten  shots  at  a  count  of 
ninety  seconds.  To  our  delight,  it  being  a  little 
windy,  the  big  paper  target  had  to  be  held  by  a 
couple  of  the  sergeants,  one  of  them  being  Loretta, 
at  whom  most  of  us  aimed.  (Some  day  I  shall 
find  time  to  tell  you  about  him.)  This  practice 
was  valuable  to  me,  helping  me  with  my  squeeze. 
It  was  amusing  to  watch  the  other  men  fire  (cool 
and  clever,  or  nervous  and  clumsy)  and  to  lis- 
ten to  a  little  echo  close  behind  our  backs  as  we 
waited,  like  a  bunch  of  firecrackers  going  off  all 
by  itself. 

And  an  incident.  Before  leaving  the  groimd  I 
gathered  up  ten  shells  and  some  cHps,  to  practice 
with  at  camp.  After  Recall  I  went  to  the  end 
of  the  company  street,  made  up  my  clips,  and 
had  nearly  finished  simulating  the  shooting  of 
the  second  one,  when  we  were  called  for  calis- 
thenics, and  I  came  nmning,  and  put  away  the 
gun.  When  later  we  feU  in  for  parade,  and  were 
given  "Inspection  arms !"  on  my  opening  my  rifle 
a  shell  flew  out,  right  at  the  feet  of  the  first  ser- 
geant, much  to  my  disgust.  When  later  still  I 
came  back  and  foimd  it,  I  discovered  it  to  be  not 


AT  PLATTSBURG  133 

an  "empty"  but  a  "blank,"  which  someone  this 
morning  must  excitedly  have  pimaped  out  of  his 
gun  unfired,  and  left  lying  for  me  to  pick  up. 
Lucky  I  didn't  fire  it  in  practising  at  the  foot  of 
the  street ! 

But  it  shows  that  I  am  still  a  greenhorn  if  I 
will  put  away  my  gun  with  anything  in  it,  even 
though  I  had  supposed  it  to  contain  but  an  empty 
shell.  I  don't  intend  ever  to  do  such  a  thing 
again.  There  is  another  trifling  mistake  we  are 
liable  to,  as  illustrated  today.  Halted  at  "com- 
pany front,"  that  is,  with  the  two  ranks  in  long 
lines,  the  captain  ordered  us  to  load.  At  the  com- 
mand the  men  half  turn  to  the  right,  but  keep 
the  rifle  pointing  forward  and  up;  the  rear  rank 
men  also  come  close  to  the  front,  so  that  the  muz- 
zles of  their  guns  are  in  advance  of  the  front  rank 
men.  Standing  thus  they  open  the  breeches  of 
their  guns,  thrust  in  the  clips,  shove  the  bolt 
handle  forward  and  turn  it  down — and  then 
somebody's  gim  goes  off!  So  you  see  why  the 
rear  rank  men  have  their  guns  where  no  one  will 
be  hit,  and  why  the  captain  stands  off  at  one  side. 
My,  but  he  read  us  a  lecture  this  morning !  "  Who 
let  off  that  gim? — Mr.  Soandso,  some  blimders 
are  crimes.  That  was  one!"  And  a  few  more 
well  chosen  words.  One  hundred  and  forty-nine 
of  us  were  glad  we  hadn't  made  that  Uttle  slip. 

After  our  firing  the  captain  broke  the  company 
into  two,  and  took  my  half  himself.  Then  he 
proved  to  us  that  in  skirmish  drill  we  had  for- 


134  AT  PLATTSBURG 

gotten  all  we  had  ever  known,  briefly  expressed 
his  opinion  of  the  corporals,  and  splitting  us  into 
squads,  told  the  sub-squad-leaders  to  take  com- 
mand. Now  Reardon,  who  has  drilled  at  Number 
Four  in  the  rear  rank  since  the  formation  of  the 
squad,  is  by  virtue  of  that  position  the  corporal's 
substitute,  and  he  manfully  tried  to  lead  us.  I 
saw  in  a  moment,  first  that  he  knew  twice  as 
much  as  I  about  the  drill  regulations,  second  that 
never  before  having  given  an  order,  he  could  not 
do  himself  justice.  Further,  with  the  captain  in 
that  mood  every  man  of  us  was  scared.  So  pres- 
ently the  captain,  after  a  few  beheadings  in  other 
squads,  came  and  watched  ours  for  a  minute, 
sent  Reardon  to  his  place  in  the  ranks,  and  as  his 
eye  roved  over  the  rest  of  us,  picked  me  out, 
probably  as  being  the  only  one  whose  name  he 
knew.  "Mr.  Godwin,  put  the  squad  through  the 
skirmish  drill ! "  A  bad  five  minutes !  I  can  order 
men  about  informally,  and  I  knew  what  I  wanted 
done  in  this  case,  but  to  give  the  order  in  the  pre- 
cise words  of  the  drill  book  was  more  than  my 
memory  could  compass.  It  was  very  interesting, 
even  quite  exciting;  continually  I  racked  my  brain 
for  something  to  do  next  in  which  I  should  not 
make  a  fool  of  myself.  We  got  back  into  com- 
pany formation  after  a  while,  and  the  captain  tried 
the  line  in  a  skirmish  advance;  then  abruptly  he 
put  all  the  corporals  back  into  their  places,  and 
my  little  reign  was  over. 
I  should  like,  as  anyone  would  like,  to  be  cor- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  135 

poral.  Yet  I  should  not  make  a  good  one,  being 
nowadays  in  an  absent-minded  state  and  likely 
to  fall  into  fits  of  brooding  from  which  I  could  not 
give  my  orders  correctly  or  promptly.  I  wonder 
if  the  captain  will  find  out  Knudsen.  But  it  is 
right  that  Bannister  should  remain  corporal,  for 
he  is  daily  improving  in  the  work. 

Nor  can  it  be  at  all  easy  for  our  two  officers  to 
find,  in  the  midst  of  all  their  work  and  among  so 
many  men,  the  one  man  in  every  eight  capable 
of  leading  the  squad.  In  the  early  stage  of  the 
school  of  the  soldier  it  was  not  difficult  to  find 
those  men  who  could  best  handle  their  guns  and 
drill  others  in  the  same  simple  art.  But  such  a 
test,  even  if  mentally  sufficient,  does  not  take  in 
the  moral  quaHties  necessary  for  the  handling  of 
eight  men,  keeping  them  up  to  discipline,  seeing 
that  they  understand  and  are  at  all  times  ready 
for  their  work.  Experienced  sergeants  might 
make  this  quickly  possible,  but  our  sergeants, 
even  when  they  have  been  here  before,  are  mostly 
very  new  to  their  duties.  I  take  it  that  the  cap- 
tain and  lieutenant  are  doing  as  well  as  they 
can. 

In  the  afternoon  the  captain  formed  us  in  the 
street  and  drilled  us  in  the  manual,  then  took  us 
down  on  the  field  and  explained  battalion  parade, 
after  which  he  put  us  through  and  through  and 
through  its  simple  evolutions,  we  blimdering  all 
the  time.  We  had  merely  to  march  in  line,  to 
march  in  colimm,  to  halt  and  bring  our  rifles 


136  AT  PLATTSBURG 

down  together,  and  to  do  the  customary  move- 
ments of  the  manual  in  unison.  But  try  as  we 
might,  we  couldn^t  please  the  captain.  For  my 
part,  I  was  as  scared  as  a  schoolboy,  fearing  to 
make  some  slip.  But  such  Httle  ones  as  I  know  I 
made  passed  imnoticed;  in  fact,  our  part  of  the 
line  attracts  very  little  of  his  attention,  so  I  con- 
clude we  do  fairly  weU.  Yet  in  the  picture  which 
I  send,  of  the  captain  looking  at  our  squad  as 
we  march  company  front,  the  camera  has  caught 
Squad  8  in  a  great  mistake.  The  sun,  as  it  lies 
exactly  along  the  line  of  the  company,  with  only 
the  right  hands  and  knees  in  fuU  light,  shows  my 
part  of  the  line  pushed  wholly  forward  out  of  the 
shadow,  and  the  Captain  looking  at  us  in  dis- 
gust. His  attitude  shows  his  fighting  quality. 
"The  scrappiest  captain  in  the  army,"  says  Elnud- 
sen.  So  often  he  has  to  look  back  thus  and 
warn  us:  "Steady!"  or  "Guide!"  or  "Hold  back 
on  the  left!" 

How  little  you  as  a  spectator  would  get  of  what 
goes  on  in  the  ranks  on  such  an  occasion  as  to- 
day's final  parade!  Suppose  you  were  where  I 
so  often  wish  you,  at  the  top  of  the  slope  above  the 
field,  which  in  spite  of  certain  unevennesses  would 
look  to  you  fairly  level.  You  would  see  the  band 
march  down  and  take  its  place  in  the  left  comer; 
then  away  to  your  right  the  companies  would  ap- 
pear in  their  separate  columns,  and  perhaps  you 
would  think  they  were  very  interesting  as  they 
halted  and  waited.    Then  when  the  major  came 


AT  PLATTSBURG  137 

and  took  his  stand  below  you,  the  music  would 
strike  up,  and  the  three  companies  would  march 
straight  onto  the  field,  along  the  bottom  of  which 
they  would  one  after  another  swing  into  line  and 
stand  in  apparently  beautiful  order.  Then  an 
adjutant  with  a  clear  high  voice  wotdd  give  or- 
ders, and  the  men  would  present  arms,  come  to 
attention,  and  then  to  parade  rest.  In  this  po- 
sition they  would  remain  while  the  band,  playing 
a  march,  would  go  down  the  whole  line  and  back 
again,  the  music,  when  they  were  once  more  in 
place,  abruptly  stopping.  Then  the  officers  would 
gather  and  march  forward  in  line,  they  would  re- 
turn, the  major  would  call  a  command,  and  the 
companies  would  all  break  into  squads,  the  rifles 
coming  to  the  shoulders.  To  the  right  they  would 
pass,  turn  up  the  slope,  and  then  one  by  one 
would  again  swing  into  line  and  pass,  with  more 
or  less  beautifully  wavering  fronts,  before  the 
major.  The  first  two  companies  would  evoke 
applause  from  the  spectators;  the  third,  in  which 
you  would  see  a  familiar  face,  would  rouse  none — 
and  though  you  might  clap  your  best,  in  this  case 
you  are  but  a  ghost,  and  no  one  would  hear  you. 
Then  the  companies  would  for  last  time  break 
into  squads  and  so  would  march  off  the  field. 
And  you  would  sigh  and  think,  "Isn't  it  fine?*' 

Well,  you  would  never  get  the  true  inwardness 
unless  I  told  you.    It  went  this  way. 

Down  out  of  the  street  we  marched  into  the 
field,  I  a  small  part  of  a  big  machine,  very  much 


138  AT  PLATTSBURG 

afraid  that  I  might  make  some  blunder.  The 
men's  feet  thudded  in  unison  on  the  sod,  and  to 
each  tramp  came  the  rustling  echo  of  our  stiff 
breeches,  always  an  accompaniment  to  us  as  we 
march  in  good  order.  We  waited,  we  marched 
forward  to  the  music,  we  heard  the  captain  give 
his  first  order — to  the  guides,  I  realized,  not  to 
us — ^but  then  came  "Squads  left — ^march!" 

I  swimg  to  the  left,  the  men  in  front  of  me 
marched  to  the  right.  Just  grazing  the  last  of 
them,  as  these  rear-rank  men  filed  to  their  places, 
I  stepped  into  my  position  in  the  front  rank  just 
as  the  corporal  finished  counting  "Six"  below 
his  breath,  and  at  "Seven !''  the  whole  line,  which 
had  been  waiting  for  us  Number  Ones  to  com- 
plete it,  strode  straight  forward.  "Company — !'' 
and  we  took  this  last  moment,  each  out  of  the 
comer  of  his  eye  searching  to  the  right,  to  get  in 
good  line.  "Halt!"  Low  voices  coxmted  " One, 
two!"  and  the  halt  was  completed.  "One,  two, 
three!"  and  the  pieces  were  at  the  order.  The 
captain  commanded  "Right — dress!"  and  we 
edged  forward,  our  heads  turned  to  the  right,  to 
align  the  rank. 

Such  eager  work  we  make  of  it — "Forward  on 
the  right — ^back  in  the  next  squad — Frothing- 
ham,  you're  too  far  forward — tell  Neary  to  get 
back!"  Such  commands,  all  under  the  breath, 
run  up  and  down  the  line.  At  last  we  are  in  place, 
the  Captain  says  "Front!"  and  takes  his  place 
before  the  middle  of  the  line,  facing  away  from 


AT  PLATTSBURG  139 

us.  But  he  says  in  reminder,  "  The  next  command 
for  you  will  be  Parade  Rest." 

Alas,  Lieutenant  Pendleton's  high  tenor  (he  is 
the  adjutant  for  the  day)  calls  "Guides — posts!'* 
We  knew — ^we  ought  to  have  known — ^the  order; 
we  had  been  warned  to  ignore  it.  But  some  of 
the  men  come  to  parade  rest.  The  captain  hears, 
though  he  cannot  turn  to  look.  "Stupid!"  he 
hisses.  "As  you  were!"  Then  comes  the  com- 
mand for  us  all,  "Parade — ^rest!" 

It  was  very  comfortable,  waiting  while  the  band 
marched  up  and  down.  We  were  not  much 
stirred  by  this;  we  knew  by  heart  all  the  few 
tunes;  we  thought  the  dnmi-major  very  tiresome 
with  his  bent  head  and  his  elbow  jogging  for  the 
time.  But  there  was,  above  the  ugly  mess- 
shacks  straight  in  front,  the  finest  simset  to  look 
at:  angry  clouds  to  the  right,  to  the  left  wide 
reaches  of  pure  blue,  with  tiny  white  clouds 
stretching  in  rank  to  infinite  distance,  and  in  the 
middle  the  yellow  glow  of  fire  behind  broken 
masses,  through  which  shot,  not  beams  of  light, 
but  rather,  it  seemed,  wide  bars  of  shadow. 

The  captain,  as  we  thus  stood  at  parade,  hissed 
back  over  his  shoulder,  "Bad !  Some  of  you  men 
have  your  feet  too  far  back."  This  would  par- 
ticularly disgust  him,  for  at  previous  practice, 
taking  a  gun  from  a  sergeant,  he  stood  in  front 
of  us  and  said,  "Let  me  show  you  how  Rip  Van 
Winkle  here  in  the  second  squad  comes  to  parade 
rest,"  and  gave  us  a  ludicrous  example  of  slowness 


140  AT  PLATTSBURG 

and  slovenliness.  Then  he  illustrated,  in  brisk- 
ness and  correct  position,  just  how  we  should 
do  it. 

Returned  to  his  place  after  saluting  the  major, 
he  said,  looking  straight  in  front,  "Your  next 
command  is  Squads  Right."  The  major's  big 
voice  boomed:  "Pass  in  review — squads  right — 
March!"  I  turned  sharply  to  my  right,  marked 
time,  and  when  the  other  three  had  come  into 
line,  together  we  stepped  out.  The  band  blared 
out,  we  were  in  step,  and  so  approached  the  cor- 
ner. "  Column  left ! "  and  we  did  our  best  to  turn 
correctly,  though  nobody  could  see.  Then  we 
marched  up  the  slope,  knowing  that  the  real  test 
was  now  coming.  "Squads  left !"  and  as  the  rear 
rank  man  made  way  for  me,  I  stepped  into  place, 
and  in  one  line  we  all  strode  out  together.  To  hold 
the  line  straight!  You  on  the  top  of  the  slope 
may  have  cried  "How  pretty!"  at  the  rifles  all 
with  the  same  slant,  the  hands  at  the  same  height, 
the  heads  straight  front,  the  feet — one,  two! 
one,  two ! — in  perfect  time  with  the  music.  But 
with  us  in  the  line  there  was  intentness  to  remedy 
any  unevenness,  strain  to  hold  ourselves  just 
right.  We  could  not  look  except  out  of  the  comers 
of  the  eyes;  all  was  done  by  the  touch  of  the  el- 
bows. For  a  few  yards,  rods,  it  was  good.  We 
safely  crossed  a  slimy  patch  where  a  great  pud- 
dle had  just  dried,  through  which  on  Monday  I 
tramped  ankle  deep,  and  where  now  a  fall  would 
be  natural.    Then — ah !  we  expected  this !  Froth- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  141 

Jnghaiiij  I,  Knudsen,  found  ourselves  marching 
felonej  the  other  men  out  of  touch  with  lis,  having 
drawn  away  to  the  right  and  left.  I  heard  my 
mates  grumble,  I  Mew  what  I  was  to  do:  spread 
myself  to  occupy  aU  possible  space  and  march 
straight  onward,  for — there  I  they  were  back 
again,  surging  from  the  left  and  right,  back  iii 
their  proper  places,  and  the  line  had  not  really 
broken.  "Good!"  murmurs  Knudsen.  "Hold 
it!"  exhorts  the  captain  over  his  shoulder.  Then 
"Eyes  right!"  and  thus  saluting  as  we  passed 
the  major  we  could  see,  or  thought  we  saw,  a 
perfect  line.  "Front!"  We  swept  on;  we  lis- 
tened. The  ladies  had  clapped  the  first  two 
companies,  but  there  was  no  applause  for  us. 
Had  it  then  been  bad  after  all? 

Back  to  the  street  we  marched,  and  formed  in 
line.  Lieutenant  Pendleton  came  and  spoke  to 
the  captain,  then  walked  away  smiling.  "The 
lieutenant  says  you  did  well,"  said  the  captain 
briefly.  But  he  was  so  short  that  we  thought  him 
gnmipy,  especially  since  the  Ueutenant  had  never 
before  been  seen  to  give  us  anything  else  than  his 
little  ironical  smile.  Yet  at  company  conference, 
in  the  evening,  one  of  us  ventured  to  ask  the  cap- 
tain if  we  really  had  done  badly.  "No,"  said  he. 
"I  was  pleased  with  you.  You  did  well.  The 
major  said  you  did  best."  So  the  lack  of  applause 
meant  nothing.  I  saw  men  whose  home  affairs 
are  so  large  that  this  might  properly  be  small  to 
them^  look  at  each  other  in  relief. 


142  AT  PLATTSBURG 

To  day  I  got  a  letter  from  Walt  Famham  about 
his  cousin  Lucy.  He  says:  "I  know  you  won't 
baby  him.  The  camp  ought  to  do  him  good.  It 
was  I  that  put  the  idea  into  his  head,  but  his 
father,  afraid  that  he  might  back  out  at  the  last 
minute,  or  not  stick  it  through,  has  promised  him 
an  auto  of  his  own  when  he  gets  back,  anything 
up  to  twelve  thousand  dollars.  How  can  even 
Plattsburg  save  such  a  boy?" 

And  Vera  is  after  him  now.  After  conference 
I  was  writing  in  the  company  tent,  the  inner  one, 
while  the  captain  still  talked  outside  to  half  a 
dozen  men.  To  my  surprise  a  bell  rang  behind 
me,  and  while  I  sat  looking  at  a  ciurious  instru- 
ment on  the  post,  wondering  if  it  were  a  telephone, 
the  captain  came  in,  took  from  it  a  strange  re- 
ceiver-transmitter, and  spoke  into  it.  I  heard 
Vera  plainly  answering,  and  the  captain,  saying 
"Mr.  Godwin  is  right  here,"  gave  me  the  thing  to 
hold.  She  said  "Oh,  Dick!"  so  plainly  that  of 
course  the  captain  heard  it  as  he  went  out  again. 
Vera  told  me  that  Mrs.  Famham  has  written  her, 
asking  her  to  keep  an  eye  on  her  darling,  and  I  was 
to  send  Lucy  to  call.  I  warned  her  she'd  much 
better  leave  him  alone,  but  she  laughed  and  in- 
sisted. The  telephone  was  in  that  state,  or  she 
spoke  so  plainly  (you  know  how  it  occasionally 
happens)  that  anyone  could  have  heard  her  even 
in  the  outer  tent.  When  I  hung  up  and  went 
out,  there  was  the  captain  just  saying  good  night 
to  the  men,  and  the  table  and  benches  would 


•     AT  PLATTSBURG  143 

not  let  me  slip  by  before  he  turned  and  saw 
me. 

You  know  there  are  moments  when  eyes  meet 
and  seem  to  catch,  and  it  is  difficult  to  pass  with- 
out speaking.  That  is  why,  I  am  sure,  the  cap- 
tain said:  "You  are  very  well  acquainted  with 
Miss  Wadsworth?" 

I  thought  that  here  was  a  chance  for  the  truth. 
"I  ought  to  be,"  I  said.  "I  have  been  engaged 
to  her  for  the  past  two  years.'*  And  then  seeing, 
by  the  instant  change  in  his  face  to  one  of  deep- 
est gravity,  what  he  supposed  me  to  mean,  I 
added,  "She  broke  the  engagement  a  month 
ago." 

"Oh,"  said  he,  not  relieved,  mother,  or  not 
showing  reKef,  but  very  seriously  kind,  "I'm 
sorry,  Mr.  Godwin." 

"Thank  you,  captain,"  I  said,  and  got  myself 
away.  I  don't  mind  having  told;  indeed  I  did  it 
dehberately,  quite  for  the  good  of  his  peace  of 
mind.  It's  always  a  relief  to  strike  one  rival  off 
the  Hst,  and  if  ever  he  gets  really  interested  in 
Vera  he'll  find  plenty  of  others  blocking  the  way. 

When  I  gave  David  Vera's  message  he  flushed 
up  at  first  with  pleasure,  then  remembered  that 
an  evening  call  would  spoil  a  company  confer- 
ence, which  he  has  taken  to  attending.  As  usual, 
he  looked  to  Knudsen  for  advice,  and  that  wily 
person  said,  "Go  in  the  afternoon  and  perhaps 
you'll  miss  her,"  which  reheved  the  boy  consider- 
ably.  Our  time  is  too  horribly  full  for  social  calls. 


144  AT  PLATTSBURG 

Tomorrow  evening  there  is  to  be  a  company  box- 
ing match,  one-minute  roxmds,  no  decision  given. 
It  is  said  that  Randall  has  entered,  and  Pickle 
remarked  thereupon,  "I'd  like  to  have  the  lay- 
ing of  him  out."  "No  fear,"  said  Corder.  "Ran- 
dall is  to  box  a  man  he  knows,  for  points  only, 
very  gently."  "Yellow,"  said  Clay.  Lucy  said 
nothing,  but  looked  a  good  deal.  There  actually 
are  coming  lines  of  firmness  around  his  mouth. 

Good-by. 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Plattshurg,  Thursday  the  2ist  Sept. 

Dear  Mother: — 

I  am  writing  at  about  7.30  o'clock  on  the  range, 
after  having  fired  my  practice  shots  to  make  my 
sighting  sure,  and  now  with  time  to  wait  before 
my  rapid-fire  test.  Imagine  the  usual  confusion, 
the  heavy  rapping  of  the  shots,  the  calling  over 
of  names,  and  the  buzz  and  laughter  of  the  men 
waiting  near  me.  A  perfect  morning,  the  dew 
just  burning  off,  a  little  breeze  from  the  lake,  and 
not  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 

We  are  shooting  from  the  two  hundred  yard 
mark,  sitting  position,  and  since  I  have  watched 
a  few  rounds,  I  am  able  to  tell  you  the  way  of  it. 
— ^As  the  guns  become  silent  with  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  targets  the  Lieutenant  calls,  "Next 
men  up!''  Those  who  have  just  shot  rise  and 
nervously  stand  aside,  to  watch  the  scoring  of 
their  ten  shots.  The  new  men,  while  loading  and 
locking  their  pieces,  also  watch  the  record  of  their 
predecessors.  Passing  behind  D  Company  a  few 
minutes  ago,  I  saw  the  flag  cross  one  target  six 
times.  I  did  not  see  the  beginning  of  the  score, 
and  how  many  more  misses  the  poor  devil  made, 
I  can  only  guess.  The  men  go  away  with  their 
scores,  the  new  ones  stand  waiting. 

pjom  the  left  lings  the  high^£§,U,^  '^Bfi^dy  on 

.145 


146  AT  PLATTSBURG 

the  right  !*'  The  lieutenant  responds  to  his  men, 
"Unlock  your  pieces."  To  the  waiting  men  the 
interval  is  long.  Then  slowly  the  blank  targets 
begin  to  sink  and  the  tops  of  the  true  ones  to  rise. 
It  is  the  signal.  The  men  drop  to  the  sitting 
position  and  settle  the  butts  in  their  shoulders; 
the  muzzles  rise,  waver,  and  steady.  Then  to- 
gether "Pol-lop!"  and  the  whole  line,  faster  and 
faster,  bursts  into  the  rap-rap-rapping  of  the 
continued  fire.  Along  the  line,  little  spurts  of 
flame;  a  thin  haze  rises  from  the  muzzles  and  at 
once  disappears.  Beside  each  shooter  kneel  two 
coaches,  one  calling  the  time,  the  other  exhorting, 
warning,  entreating.  A  distinct  lag  in  the  firing 
between  forty-five  and  fifty  seconds — the  men 
are  loading  their  second  clips.  Then  the  fire 
gradually  quickens  to  the  full  rate,  the  coaches 
urging  the  slow  ones  on,  holding  the  hasty  ones 
back.  The  fire  slackens,  and  seems  stopped, 
when  as  the  targets  sink  at  the  ninety  seconds, 
two  last  hasty  shots  slap  out.  The  round  is  over. 
In  the  brief  time  the  three  dozen  men  have  fired 
three  hundred  and  sixty  shots. 

{Later)  My  turn  approached,  and  I  stood 
waiting,  the  sling  clasped  on  my  arm.  I  felt  the 
strain  of  the  long  wait  before  there  came  the  call, 
Ready!  To  my  coaches  I  had  said — to  one, 
"Don^t  let  me  shoot  too  fast,  and  keep  me  on 
my  target";  to  the  other,  "Remind  me  to  squeeze." 
Then  the  blank  target,  beside  the  great  28,  be- 
gan to  sink,  and  down  I  dropped.    I  was  not 


AT  PLATTSBURG  147 

nervous  now;  at  least  I  did  not  tremble.  I  tried 
to  fire  slow,  to  squeeze,  to  keep  on  my  own  tar- 
get, (for  truly,  as  the  captain  lately  said,  firing  on 
another  man's  target  is  one  of  the  sad  things  of 
life.)  My  second  clip  I  had  to  shoot  quicker  imtil 
my  last  shot,  when  the  coach  said,  "Plenty  of 
time."  So  I  sighted  and  squeezed  my  best,  felt 
that  I  could  call  the  buUseye,  and  pulling  out  the 
bolt  for  the  last  time,  to  show  that  the  breech 
and  magazine  were  empty,  stood  up  and  stepped 
back.     Now  for  the  score. 

The  target  rose  at  last.  The  red  disk  was  all 
I  hoped  for,  but  there  came  the  white,  again  the 
white,  again  the  white,  again,  again,  again,  then 
three  times  the  red,  and  once  the  bladk.  I  still 
waited,  having  lost  count.  Would  the  flag  come 
now?  But  no,  the  target  sank,  and  my  coaches 
congratulated  me  on  a  forty-five ! 

(Evening.  In  the  tent)  Well,  I  won't  put  in 
too  much  detail  for  you,  to  whom  perhaps  this 
shooting  has  no  interest.  We  finished  at  two 
hundred  yards  and  moved  back,  carrying  benches, 
racks,  chairs,  flags,  everything,  and  began  over 
again  at  three  himdred  yards,  prone.  The  men 
were  mostly  very  much  on  the  stretch,  and  I  ad- 
mit that  I  was,  for  while  I  now  was  practically 
sure  of  my  grade  of  marksman,  I  might,  by  shoot- 
ing especially  well,  even  become  a  sharpshooter. 
Lucy  was  in  a  similar  state,  marksman  being 
within  his  grasp.  Randall  was  swaggering;  he 
had  been  shooting  well.     But  Knudsen  was  very 


148  AT  PLATTSBURG 

anxious,  surprising  in  so  cool  a  fellow*  ''To  he 
Expert,"  he  said,  "IVe  got  to  make  a  fifty, 
Confound  it,  I'm  afraid  that  shot  I  sent  into  the 
wrong  target  will  ruin  my  chances.  I  need  the 
.little  leeway  it  would  give." 

Well,  he  missed  it  by  two,  and  that  little  error 
randid  him.  Lucy  got  his  grade  of  marksman, 
and  his  excitement  was  deHghtful.  He  sought 
out  each  member  of  the  squad  and  called  for  con- 
gratulations. How  disgusted  his  mother  would 
be  to  see  him  with  his  hand  on  Pickle's  shoulder, 
discussing  the  score,  for  really,  don't  you  know, 
socially  Pickle  is  less  than  nobody !  I  made  my 
grade  as  sharpshooter,  just  made  it,  with  a  forty- 
nine. 

Poor  Reardon !  His  scores  had  not  been  good, 
only  a  miracle  could  make  him  marksman,  but 
he  lost  his  chance.    Loretta — 

I'll  tell  you  about  Loretta,  a  sergeant  whom 
the  boys  have  nick-named  thus.  Luckily  he  is 
not  in  our  platoon;  but  we  soon  got  to  know  the 
Jft/ty  smile  with  which  he  passed  up  and  down 
tQ}^  street,  and  his  contempt  for  the  enlisted  man. 
jSucb,,  t2xy  dear  mother,  is  the  inflating  power  of  a 
Uittle  a^sKtiiority. 

Well,  he  has  been  very  busy  with  the  shooting, 
Moaking  a  good  record  himself,  and  helping,  as 
an  the  sergeants  did,  with  the  scoring.  Needing 
a  scorer  at  one  of  the  targets,  he  took  poor  Reardon 
and  put  him  at  work  just  when  his  last  turn  was 
coming  on^  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  had 


AT  PLATTSBURG  *  149 

already  served  long  hours  at  the  job.  Reardon 
protested,  Loretta  promised  to  let  him  have  his 
turn,  but  when  the  shooting  was  all  over  there 
was  poor  Reardon  still  at  the  desk,  and  his  last 
round  was  not  fired.  We  noticed  that  on  the 
way  back  to  camp  he  was  very  silent  and  cast 
down,  but  we  did  not  know  why  till  we  were 
cleaning  our  guns  in  the  tent,  all  the  racks  being 
occupied  outside.  Then  I  questioned  Reardon, 
and  the  facts  came  out. 

All  of  us  were  wrathy,  but  you  should  have  seen 
Lucy !  Tears  of  anger  came  into  his  eyes  as  he 
started  up.  "I'll  go  at  once  and  tell  the  cap- 
tain!" Reardon  clutched  him.  "No,''  said  the 
good  fellow.  "I  hadn't  a  chance  to  qualify.  It's 
perfectly  true.    Loretta  told  me  so." 

"Loretta  told  you  so !"  echoed  David.  He  was 
quite  white  and  shaking  at  this  instance  of  adding 
insult  to  injury.    "By  God !" 

He  was  for  going  at  once  and  complaining,  but 
Reardon  wouldn't  let  him.  "Then,"  said  David, 
"wait  till  the  hike.  If  you  don't  get  even  with 
him  then,  I  will!" 

I  wouldn't  tell  this  story  to  David's  mother. 
She  might  think  her  son  too  sympathetic  with 
an  "outsider." 

The  fellows  have  been  in  the  habit  of  cooing  at 
Loretta  as  he  passes  their  tents.  His  pet  name 
precedes  him  down  the  street,  the  coos  come  from 
the  shadowed  interiors.  It  has  been  meant 
harmlessly.    But  this  story  of  Reardon  has  spread 


ISO'  AT  PLATTSBURG 

rapidly,  and  I  thought  I  detected  a  snarl  in  the 
cooing  when  Loretta  just  went  by.  There  is 
something  in  David^s  threat.  Wait  till  the 
hike! 

This  afternoon  we  had  our  usual  drill  and  calis- 
thenics, after  which  I  went  swimming  in  the  lake, 
as  I  do  daily,  though  under  certain  difficulties. 
The  beach  is  very  stony  and  bruises  the  feet,  and 
the  piers  that  have  been  built  at  our  two  bathing 
places  are  quite  inadequate,  both  as  accommo- 
dating too  few  men  at  a  time,  and  next  as  not  go- 
ing out  into  deep  water.  Perhaps  early  in  the  sum- 
mer the  water  at  the  ends  may  be  up  to  one's 
shoulders,  but  now  it  is  scarcely  above  the  waist, 
and  none  but  the  cleverest  and  most  venturesome 
dare  to  dive.  So  many  would  like  the  diving  that 
it  is  a  pity  that  a  httle  money  can't  be  expended 
here.  However,  the  water  is  fine,  even  if  it  is 
now  getting  so  cold  that  some  of  the  men  are 
giving  up  their  swim.  We  often  have  surf  here, 
when  the  southeast  wind  quarters  across  the  bay 
all  the  way  from  Burlington,  and  then  the  fun  is 
notable. 

The  scene  at  the  foot  of  the  pier  particularly 
struck  me  today,  after  the  men  were  out.  There 
were  nearly  a  hundred  of  them  in  a  rather  narrow 
compass,  so  close  to  each  other,  on  the  boulders 
of  the  beach,  that  they  reminded  me  of  the  pic- 
tures one  sees  of  big  birds  in  their  colonies.  The 
men  were  naked,  and  every  one  in  active  motion, 
rubbing  down.    The  sight  of  so  much  brown  and 


AT  PLATTSBURG  151 

pink  skin,  of  so  many  moving  bodies  and  arms 
and  legs,  was  most  peculiar  and  amusing. 

The  list  of  company  officers  has  been  published. 
Two  of  our  best  sergeants  becoming  lieutenants, 
other  sergeants  have  been  named,  and  the  list  of 
corporals  and  sub-squad-leaders  has  been  fixed. 
In  our  squad  Bannister  and  Reardon  stand  as 
before.  Ban  quietly  told  us  that  he  was  glad  to 
get  the  appointment.  "  I  had  my  eye  on  you," 
he  said  to  Knudsen,  "  and  on  you,"  to  me. 
"This  will  please  my  old  father:  he  was  a  cor- 
poral in  the  Civil  War."  And  good  Ban  forgot 
us  as  he  thought  of  the  satisfaction  of  the  old 
man  at  home. 

Tonight  at  conference  we  were  given  definite 
details  of  the  scheme  for  reimbursing  us  for  our 
travelling  expenses  and  oiu:  mess.  The  govern- 
ment will  repay  those  who  take  the  oath  of  al- 
legiance— and  everyone  is  himting  for  the  nigger 
in  the  woodpile.  There  is  so  general  a  sentiment 
that  the  War  Department  tricked  the  militia 
into  taking  the  oath  of  six  years'  service  before 
starting  for  Texas,  that  none  of  us  careS  to  be 
caught  promising  too  much.  But  I  feel  that  the 
form  of  oath,  which  was  read  aloud  tonight,  is 
pretty  straightforward.  We  enlist  only  for  the 
period  of  the  camp,  and  for  instruction  only.  I 
shall  take  the  oath.  K  before  the  period  is  over 
the  government  takes  us  away  for  service  any- 
where, I  suppose  there  will  be  an  emergency  to 
justify  it. 


IS2  AT  PLATTSBURG 

We  were  also  given  additional  facts  regarding 
the  hike.  Having  so  smaU  a  regiment,  yet  having 
the  baggage  train  of  the  large  August  camp,  we 
are  to  go  on  the  longest  hike  yet,  eleven  days  on 
the  road  and  in  the  field,  ten  nights  in  the  pup- 
tents.  We  are  sorting  our  belongings  to  take  or 
to  leave,  and  David  is  wondering  how  he  can  carry 
all  his  exquisite  appointments. 

But  he  has  just  come  out  strong.  Company 
conference  being  over,  there  was  held  the  boxing 
match  which  one  of  the  sergeants  has  been  pro- 
moting, and  the  whole  company  (officers  dis- 
creetly absent)  formed  the  ring  and  applauded 
the  heroism.  Much  of  it  would  not  interest  you, 
yet  you  could  have  stood  a  glimpse  of  it — the 
circle  of  men,  good-naturedly  applauding,  the 
he^vy  shadows  under  the  overhead  light,  the  gray- 
green  uniformity  of  men  and  sand,  the  two  danc- 
ing figures,  and  the  pat-pat  of  the  gloves.  There 
were  some  neat  bouts,  and  then  the  promoter 
made  an  announcement,  which  to  my  surprise  I 
saw  Randall,  stripped  to  the  waist,  furtively  try- 
ing to  stop. 

He  had  on  his  left,  said  the  sergeant,  one 
remaining  contestant,  whose  opponent  had  just 
sent  word  that  he  had  hurt  his  wrist.  Would  any 
gentleman  be  willing  to  provide  Mr.  Randall  witJi 
an  antagonist? 

No  one  came  forward.  Randall  looked  very 
formidable,  with  his  handsome  features  and  also 
a  most  superb  set  of  muscles.    I  was  saying  to 


AT  PLATTSBURG  153 

myself  that  perhaps  I'd  better  give  him  a  go, 
when  I  caught  sight  of  Lucy's  face,  peering  be- 
tween the  men  in  front  of  him,  and  so  plainly  full 
of  desire  that  I  waited.  Then  Corder,  on  the 
other  side  of  him,  jogged  David  in  the  ribs,  and 
said  in  a  low  voice,  "He  called  you  Lucy!"  In 
an  instant  David,  without  a  look  behind  or  a 
moment's  hesitation,  was  pushing  through  the 
ring.  "Let  me  try."  And  he  stepped  out  into 
the  light. 

Someone  caught  me  by  the  arm,  and  there  was 
Knudsen,  very  angry.  "Why  didn't  you  stop 
him?"  he  demanded.  "He  never  can  stand  up  to 
that  fellow."  But  I,  feeling  quite  as  satisfied  as 
ever  I  felt  in  my  life,  smiled  him  down.  "Some- 
how I  think  he  can,"  said  I,  and  pushed  after 
David,  to  act  as  his  second. 

Oh,  I  coached  him  all  I  could,  and  in  the  rests 
I  helped  the  gasping  boy  in  every  way  I  knew 
how.  The  rounds  were  short,  but  too  long  for  him 
in  his  stiU  soft  condition.  And  he  knew  so  Httle 
of  the  game !  Had  Randall,  who  really  had  boxed 
before,  used  his  head,  poor  David  would  have 
stood  no  chance  whatever.  Yet  the  boy's  insight 
was  correct.  No  sooner  did  Randall  see  before 
him  the  lad's  unmistakably  eager  face,  and  know 
from  David's  first  rush  that  here  was  a  fight,  than 
he  was  flustered.  So  as  boxing  the  bout  was  noth- 
ing: neither  could  hit  clean,  parries  were  clumsy, 
much  was  accident.  David's  very  ardor  be- 
trayed him,  and  he  cam6  back  to  me  at  the  end  of 


154  AT  PLATTSBURG 

each  round  quite  winded.  But  for  the  rest,  noth- 
ing could  be  finer.  Randall  was  twenty  pounds 
the  heavier,  and  slight  David  staggered  when  the 
blows  came  home,  yet  always  he  came  back.  His 
panting  persistence,  his  determination  to  strike, 
were  too  much  for  the  other.  He  held  back,  and 
David  came  on;  he  drew  aside,  and  David  fol- 
lowed him;  he  struck,  and  David  without  parry- 
ing came  right  through,  and  landed  blow  after 
blow  somewhere. 

The  men  were  yelling  presently,  here  was  so 
evidently  grit  against  mere  muscle,  spirit  against 
flesh.  Randall  grew  angry  and  hit  hard,  but  he 
was  wild;  he  grew  afraid  and  tried  to  clinch,  but 
his  rush  was  feeble.  David  jabbed  him  repeat- 
edly in  the  ribs,  drew  off,  and  for  the  first  time 
in  the  three  rounds  (the  referee  was  just  calling 
time)  hit  Randall  neatly — on  the  nose. 

And  Randall,  in  pain  but  not  hurt  (for  the  boy 
couldn't  hit  hard)  nevertheless  believed  himself 
finished.  I  think  he  wanted  to  stagger  and  fall 
at  full  length,  but  he  only  succeeded  in  sitting 
down.  Shout  upon  shout  upon  shout !  Then  we 
of  the  squad  took  David,  groggy  with  his  own  ef- 
forts, rubbed  him  and  fanned  him  and  swabbed 
him,  and  finally  walked  him  off  between  us. 

Knudsen  said  in  my  ear,  "You  were  right. 
That  was  worth  a  thousand  dollars." 

A  fellow  from  another  squad  tried  to  be  com- 
plimentary.   "Well  done,  Lucy !" 

Pickle,  without  any  ceremony,  pushed  in  be- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  155 

tween.  "Cut  that  out!  His  name  is  Fam- 
ham." 

The  chap  was  puzzled.  "But  you  don't  call 
him  that." 

"We  know  him  better  now,"  said  Pickle.  "We 
call  him  David." 

And  David,  who  had  been  leaning  heavily  on 
me,  at  the  words  stood  upright.  He  had  been 
smiling  with  satisfaction;  now  he  looked  happy. 
He  put  his  arm  over  Pickle's  shoulder  as  the  other 
fellow  walked  away.  "Thanks,  Pick,  old  man," 
he  said. 

Elnudsen  and  Corder  and  I  fell  behind  and 
shook  hands.  The  name  Lucy  was  dead  and 
buried. 

David  wouldn't  go  to  bed;  he  sat  contentedly 
on  his  cot,  sopping  liniment  on  a  bruised  lip,  while 
fellows  kept  coming  in  from  other  squads,  to  con- 
gratulate. After  a  while  I  went  out,  and  seeing  a 
little  knot  of  our  men  at  the  captain's  tent,  joined 
them. 

The  officers  like  to  have  the  men  come  to  them 
with  questions,  and  after  repeated  invitations  is- 
sued at  general  conferences,  the  men  have  come 
to  believe  it.  So  there  is  growing  up  a  little  habit 
of  stopping  at  the  captain's  tent  for  a  question 
which  often  extends  into  an  interchange  of  ideas 
from  which  each  side  benefits.  But  they  weren't 
on  any  technical  subject  tonight;  the  men  had 
got  the  captain  talking  on  the  topic  of  an  officer's 
life,  and  they  had  just  reached  the  items  of  his 


156'  AT  PLATTSBURG 

expenses.  I  had  never  particularly  thought  of 
this  side  of  the  matter  before;  I  knew  that  an 
officer  is  technically  a  gentleman  and  must  dress 
as  such,  but  that  his  pay  is  so  small,  his  per- 
quisites so  few,  and  his  necessary  uniforms  so 
many,  I  had  not  realized.  To  tell  the  truth,  the 
little  group  of  us  who  Hstened  were  really  rather 
shocked  that  these  men  who  work  so  hard  for 
the  nation  are  under  such  burdens.  The  cap- 
tain perceived  it,  and  for  his  own  interest  sud- 
denly turned  the  tables  on  us. 

"I  have  been  rather  frank,  gentlemen,"  he  said. 
"Now  I  know  your  expenses  are  such  as  you 
choose  to  make  them;  but  would  you  mind  tell- 
ing me  how  your  incomes  compare  with  mine?'' 

The  question  was  perfectly  fair,  for  the  men 
had  been  pumping  him,  and  they  responded  at 
once.  "I  count  on  eight  thousand  yearly  from 
my  factory,"  said  one.  The  next  said  that  his 
salary  was  six.  The  third,  with  a  little  embar- 
rassed laugh,  admitted  that  he  earned  ten  thou- 
sand. And  the  next  said  that  last  year  he  cleaned 
up  forty  thousand  dollars.  As  you  can  imagine, 
these  were  all  men  older  than  the  average  rookie. 
They  wear  their  imiforms  badly,  some  of  them, 
being  no  longer  lithe  and  lissome;  and  yet  the 
forty  thousand  dollar  man  was  lean  and  hard 
as  an  Indian.  I  had  so  far  known  him  only  as  a 
sportsman  who  loved  to  talk  about  big  game. 
The  captain,  as  he  listened,  nodded  gravely  at 
each  statement,  and  when  the  last  had  spoken 


AT  PLATTSBURG  157 

turned  his  eye  on  me.  I  could  only  tell  him  the 
truth — twelve  thousand  as  my  salary,  and  per- 
haps an  equal  amount  on  the  side. 

He  drew  a  long  breath.  "  Well,  gentlemen,  you 
have  my  congratulations.  On  the  other  hand,  I*m 
not  sorry  to  have  told  you  these  facts  about  army 
life.  It's  weU  that  you  civilians  should  understand 
conditions.  As  for  myself,  I  went  into  the  ser- 
vice with  my  eyes  open,  and  I'm  not  yet  ready 
to  change  it." 

His  eye  rather  lingered  on  me.  I  have  the  im- 
pression that  he's  acutely  conscious  of  my  pres- 
ence whenever  I'm  about.  Is  that  Vera's  doing  ? 
Do  you  suppose  she's  got  him  too? 

Love  from 

Dick. 


Letter  from  Vera  Wadsworth  to  Her  Sister 
Frances 

Plattsburg  Post,  Thursday,  Sept.  21. 

Dear  Frances: — 

I  wish  I  hadn't  come.  Two  of  them  are  in 
earnest !  Lieutenant  Pendleton  is  here  every  day, 
very  gay  but  very  desperate.  I  use  the  Colonel 
all  I  can  against  him,  and  the  innocent  old 
man  will  talk  shop  with  him  by  the  hour.  But 
sometimes  the  lieutenant  manages  to  get  me 
alone,  and  only  my  best  cold-storage  manner  has 
saved  me  so  far. 

But  if  the  lieutenant  is  the  kind  that  takes 
you  by  storm,  Captain  Kirby  is  one  that  will 
lay  siege.  He  doesn't  come  so  often  as  the  other, 
he  doesn't  stay  so  long,  he  doesn't  say  so  much; 
but  he  is  the  kind  that  sticks.  I  may  be  able  to 
stave  off  the  lieutenant,  but  I  shaU  have  to  have 
it  out  with  the  captain. 

I  wish  you  were  here.  You  would  be  such  a 
help !  Can't  you  manage  it?  Oh,  Frances  dear, 
I  don't  like  army  life.  Why  couldn't  I  be  satisfied 
with  Dick?    Come  and  help  me ! 

Vera. 


is8 


From  Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His 
Mother 

Plattsburg,  Friday^  SepL  22^  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

It  rained  in  the  night,  and  between  showers  I 
went  out  and  fixed  the  cap  of  the  tent,  loosening 
also  the  cords.  If  we  don't  attend  to  these  latter 
as  soon  as  rain  begins  they  are  likely  to  shrink  and 
tear  the  caavas,  or  perhaps  pull  up  the  tent  pegs. 
And  if  everything  holds  till  morning,  then  the  job 
of  loosening  the  ropes,  even  with  three  men  to 
each,  is  considerable.  But  I  was  in  time.  In  the 
morning  it  was  cloudy,  but  we  had  dry  weather 
for  our  baths  and  breakfast,  and  for  making  up 
our  packs.  Then  the  rain  began  to  patter,  and  we 
to  groan.  The  bugle  blew,  and  we  stood  expec- 
tant at  the  doors  of  our  tents,  waiting  for  the 
whistle.  We  awaited  the  order,  "full  equipment, 
ponchos  over  aU,"  but  the  call  came,  "non-com- 
missioned officers,  with  their  drill  regulations,  at 
the  head  of  the  street."  The  corporals  and  ser- 
geants went,  the  privates  in  the  tents  cheered 
madly,  and  now  we  are  awaiting  what  may  hap- 
pen next. 

So  in  the  interval,  just  a  few  words  about  our 
proficiency,  and  our  partial  failure  so  far.  We 
haven't  done  very  well,  and  that's  a  fact.  We 
march  badly,  losing  distance,  interval,  and  align- 

159 


i6o  AT  PLATTSBURG 

ment;  we  dress  slowly,  we  fall  in  with  much  delay, 
and  our  various  manoeuvres  are  done  with  much 
hesitation  and  imcertainty.  For  all  this  the  cap- 
tain has,  as  the  boys  say,  plentifully  "bawled  us 
out,"  constantly  working  us  more  than  any  other 
officer  has  done  in  the  battaUon.  We  can^t  deny 
that  we  are  ragged  and  slovenly,  but  why  is  it? 

To  begin  with  we  are  trying  to  do,  as  the  cap- 
tain acknowledges,  more  than  could  be  hoped  of 
ordinary  recruits,  we  being  (ahem!)  of  the  in- 
teUigent  class.  But  intellectually  we  are  uneven, 
some  of  us  plainly  not  being  bom  to  be  soldiers, 
so  that  with  the  best  of  will  they  lag.  Again,  the 
Plattsburg  movement  has  reached  the  stage  in 
which  the  men  have  not  all  come  with  the  same 
impulse  to  serve  the  country,  a  considerable  pro- 
portion being,  as  it  were,  substitutes,  being  sent 
by  the  pubHc  spirit  of  employers  who  cannot 
come  themselves.  The  motive  is  excellent,  and 
they  choose,  I  make  no  doubt,  the  best  men  avail- 
able among  their  clerks.  But  not  all  of  these  are 
suitable  material,  some  being  here  for  a  lark,  and 
some  being  too  yoimg  to  be  serious.  Such  fellows 
impede  the  progress  of  the  others.  When  the 
movement  takes  still  wider  scope,  or  when  we 
reach  the  stage  of  compulsory  general  training, 
evidently  the  leaven  that  pretty  successfully 
leavens  this  lump  will  then,  being  much  diluted, 
have  harder  work  to  do,  and  to  make  the  mob 
into  a  regiment  will  take  double  the  time. 

Finally,  I  have  already  spoken  of  another  of 


AT  PLATTSBURG  i6i 

our  weaknesses,  the  inexperience  of  our  non- 
coms.  Most  of  our  corporals  are  here  for  the 
first  time;  many  of  the  sergeants,  though  familiar 
with  the  corporal's  job,  are  new  at  the  higher 
work.  Indeed  some  of  them  have  never  worn 
stripes  before.  They  are  therefore  so  necessarily 
intent  on  guarding  against  their  own  mistakes 
(which  still  are  plentiful)  that  they  can't  give 
enough  attention  to  the  blunders  of  the  men. 
Nor,  as  I  have  said,  do  I  think  that  the  profes- 
sional non-com  will  help  us  here,  imless  specially 
chosen  for  understanding  the  Plattsburger.  The 
martinet  drill-sergeant  whose  severities  the  docile 
German  may  bear,  would  never  be  tolerated  among 
us.  What  we  need  is  to  make  it  a  matter  of  pride 
for  the  veterans  of  one  camp  to  come  back  and 
serve  as  corporals  in  the  next  and  as  sergeants  in 
the  next.  With  regular  non-coms  in  the  way 
there  is  no  chance  for  the  civilian  to  make  himself 
a  valuable  reserve  man;  but  if  he  can  be  tempted 
by  promotion  to  come  again  and  yet  again,  he  is 
not  only  now  serving  the  training  cause  better 
than  anyone  else  can,  but  he  is  building  up  a  body 
of  responsible  men  whom  the  coimtry  can  call 
upon  at  need. 

Theories,  my  dear  mother,  theories.  I  will  test 
them  on  the  hike. 

— It  is  the  end  of  a  day  which  I  shall  look  back 
upon  with  respect.  Curious  that  when  at  break- 
fast someone  asked  me  if  I  found  the  work  strenu- 
ous, I  answered  that  so  far  I  had  not  found  it 


i62  AT  PLATTSBURG 

strenuous  at  all.  Since  when  we  have  had  our 
heaviest  day's  work. 

The  weather  was  showery  and  chilly,  and  the 
non-coms  returned  from  their  conference  with 
orders  for  us  to  wear  sweaters  and  ponchos. 
Being  put  into  close  battalion  formation,  we  were 
informed  by  the  major  that  an  enemy  had  landed 
at  Keesville,  some  twenty-odd  miles  south,  and 
that  we  were  to  march  out  and  get  in  touch  with 
him.  So  our  three  companies  followed  the  first 
battalion  along  the  road  to  AuSable,  having  out 
the  proper  patrols — ^point  and  communicating  files 
and  rear  guard,  with  combat  patrols — and  we 
found  ourselves  on  a  real  hike. 

It  was  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  on  the  hard  mac- 
adam all  the  way.  Now  remember  that  though 
we  have  been  on  hard  roads  some  part  of  ev- 
ery day,  we  have  mostly  been  on  gravel  or  the 
turf  of  the  fields  and  the  parade  ground.  So 
we  weren't  really  toughened  to  the  work.  The 
weather  bothered  us  also.  The  ponchos  came  off 
after  a  while,  then  we  got  heated  in  the  sun,  and 
were  feeling  the  weight  of  our  sweaters  when  the 
clouds  closed  in  and  a  shower  came.  Thus  it 
changed  most  of  the  time.  Every  forty-five  to 
fifty  minutes  we  stopped  to  rest,  spread  our 
ponchos,  and  lay  down.  To  be  exact,  after  the 
first  forty-five  minutes  we  rested  fifteen,  and  after 
each  succeeding  fifty  we  rested  ten.  We  marched 
nearly  four  miles,  then  turned  back.  Our  com- 
pany was  now  second  in  the  column,  but  none  of 


AT  PLATTSBURG  163 

the  patrol  duty  fell  to  me,  for  which  I  was  rather 
glad,  as  a  heel  began  to  bother  me. 

A  man  from  Squad  Seven  fell  out  from  the  col- 
umn. "This  finishes  the  camp  for  me,"  he  said 
ruefully  as  he  left  us.  He  has  rigid  arches,  and  it 
seems  that  the  doctors  have  warned  him  that  he 
could  not  stand  the  marching.  He  sat  and  waited 
for  some  kind  motorist,  and  after  an  hour  passed 
us,  comfortable  in  a  limousine.  There  were  others 
among  us  who  got  pretty  weary;  but  on  the  other 
hand  there  were  plenty,  I  am  glad  to  say,  who  were 
not  tired,  and  whistled  and  sang  most  of  the  way, 
to  the  advantage  of  those  who  felt  weary.  Some 
of  these  blades  spying  a  couple  of  bold  damsels, 
cried  "Eyes  Right  1"  at  which  they  giggled.  But 
the  captain  made  us  march  at  attention,  and  ex- 
plained, when  we  got  back  to  camp,  that  we  were 
expected  to  mind  our  manners  in  the  presence  of 
the  other  sex  (or  as  he  put  it,  persons  in  female 
attire)  else  we  might  be  sure  of  marching  at  at- 
tention for  the  whole  of  the  way. 

We  were  back  at  the  usual  time,  after  seven 
miles  and  a  half,  and  I,  wet  from  inside  and  from 
out,  was  glad  to  wash  and  change  and  find  lei- 
sure to  inspect  my  troublesome  heel,  on  which  I 
foimd  two  blisters  which  Clay,  being  as  I  told 
you  a  medico,  skilfully  doctored. 

But  there  was  no  rest  for  the  weary.  I  fool- 
ishly rejoiced  when  I  escaped  the  work  of  helping 
to  make  up  the  shooting  records,  also  (perhaps 
not  so  foolishly)  when  the  typhoid  sufferers  were 


i64  AT  PLATTSBURG 

taken  to  be  inoculated  for  the  third  time.  But 
while  the  captain  supervised  the  company  clerks, 
the  lieutenant,  in  anticipation  of  a  regimental 
parade,  took  us  out  on  the  field.  See  how  care- 
fully it  was  done.  As  we  were  but  the  fraction  of 
a  company  he  lined  us  up  and  made  up  squads 
afresh,  a  corporal  to  each,  then  instructed  us  in 
our  parade  work,  and  drilled  us  for  two  hours. 
Having  my  two  blisters,  I  did  not  enjoy  it,  and 
the  men  were  groaning  all  aroxmd  me.  He  was 
as  hard  to  please  as  the  captain;  once,  looking 
back  along  the  line  as  we  marched  company  front, 
he  said,  "The  ancestors  of  this  bunch  certainly 
must  have  been  a  lot  of  snakes  P'  But  I'll  ven- 
ture to  say  that  none  of  us,  after  this,  will  forget 
how  to  oblique  in  making  the  turn. 

After  ten  minutes'  rest,  we  were  taken  to  calis- 
thenics, after  which  I  anticipated  a  good  loaf. 
But  no,  we  were  assembled,  the  whole  regiment, 
for  a  conference  concerning  our  return  home  by 
government  aid,  the  major  and  a  railroad  agent 
instructing  us  in  the  terms.  I  was  glad  to  find 
that  I  can  simply  go  home  on  my  return  ticket, 
and  let  the  treasury  department  pay  me  when 
it's  good  and  ready;  and  after  standing  in  line 
for  half  an  hour  I  was  able  to  state  my  intention 
to  do  this. 

There  was  then  just  time  to  change  for  the 
parade,  which  was  partly  interesting,  partly  tedi- 
ous. Thanks  to  the  Heutenant's  drill,  we  made 
no  mistakes,  though  at  one  time  we  had  to  make 


AT  PLATTSBURG  165 

our  way  at  company  front  among  the  boxes 
and  barrels  strewed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
quartermaster's  shack.  Lieutenant  Pendleton 
briefly  said,  when  we  were  back  in  the  street, 
"You  did  well."  And  the  captain,  who  left  the 
scoring  long  enough  to  watch  the  parade,  joked 
us  on  being  mountain  goats. 

The  blisters  are  no  worse  for  the  afternoon's 
work.    It  is  raining  steadily.    Love  from 

Dick. 


Extract  from  the  Letter  of  Miss  Mamie 
Marshall  to  Her  Friend,  Miss  Rosetta 
Jones 

.  .  .  And  I  waved  a  handkerchiff,  so  some  of 
the  men  cried  Eyes  Rite  They  were  awfully 
hansome  especially  one  with  a  curling  blaci 
mustarsh  but  that  horrid  captain  Kirby  stopped 
them  from  looking  at  us  and  the  whole  colum 
went  by  without  paying  us  any  more  attention 
it  was  mean.  .  .  . 


166 


From  Private  Godwin 

Plattsburg,  Saturday  the  2jd. 

Dear  Mother: — 

We  are  having  really  rainy  weather.  Till  now 
it  has  rained  but  a  few  hours  at  most,  with  in- 
tervals for  drying.  But  it  rained  steadily  all  last 
evening,  drummed  on  the  tight  tent  all  night,  and 
was  still  heavily  at  work  when  the  bugler  failed 
to  blow  his  horn  this  morning.  Watches  not 
being  at  all  uniform,  men  got  themselves  out  of 
bed  at  their  leisure.  The  first  sergeant  did  not 
think  to  wake  us,  and  then  was  disgusted  when 
many  of  the  men  did  not  turn  out  at  the  first  call. 
Those  who  were  there  made  a  crooked  line  aroimd 
a  great  puddle  which  stood  in  the  depression  be- 
tween our  ridge  and  the  head  of  the  street. 

But  now,  after  breakfast,  everyone  is  cussing. 
"What  are  we  to  wear?"  asked  Knudsen  of  the 
first  sergeant,  who  answered  snappily,  "  The  usual 
things  for  a  hike."  Knudsen  came  back  grum- 
bling :  "  How  were  we  to  know  that  we  are  going  on 
a  hike?"  The  word  was  passed  along:  "Packs," 
"No  packs."  "Sweaters,"  "No  sweaters."  Then 
it  was  said  that  we  were  to  wear  handkerchiefs  in 
our  hats,  sure  sign  of  a  sham  battle  pending.  So 
at  last  at  the  whistle  we  turned  out  with  sweaters, 
packs,  ponchos  ready  (for  though  it  had  stopped 
raining  we  did  not  feel  safe)  and  some  of  us  with 
handkerchiefs  twined  in  our  hat-bands.    Once  in 

167 


i68  AT  PLATTSBURG 

line  we  were  sent  back — "No  packs,  no  rifles." 
Again  we  came  out  and  lined  up  again,  only  to  be 
sent  back  once  more.  "No  sweaters."  By  this 
time  it  was  rumored  that  we  were  at  last  to  take 
the  oath,  and  this  was  confirmed  by  the  sight  of 
the  captain  carrying  a  bimch  of  slips,  containing 
the  oath,  which  in  the  last  few  days  we  have  filled 
out,  and  yesterday  had  signed.  The  men  both 
grumbled  and  joked.  "We  can't  take  the  oath 
with  sweaters  on  ?  Why  not  ?  "  "  Got  on  woollen 
imderwear?  Get  cotton.  You  can't  take  the 
oath  in  wool."  So  at  last  we  were  in  line  again, 
and  then  the  captain  began  to  look  through  the 
sHps.  "Here's  a  man  written  his  name  twice 
differently.  Make  out  a  new  slip. — Here's  a  lot 
of  men  have  signed  with  lead  pencil.  It's  got  to 
be  in  ink  or  indelible  pencil."  Here  he  was  met 
by  a  lawyer,  who  had  signed  in  pencil,  and  said, 
"A  pencil  signature  is  vaHd."  "Not  here,"  said 
the  captain,  sticking  to  the  regulations,  and  the 
sUps  had  to  be  changed. 

When  we  were  ready  we  were  marched  to  the 
flag,  where  the  company  was  drawn  up  on  three 
sides  of  a  square.    The  major  then  said — 

— I  must  break  this  off  to  describe  what  is 
going  on,  which  is  too  interesting  to  ignore.  For 
the  second  time  this  afternoon  we  are  shut  up  in 
the  dark  tent,  everyone  having  fled  before  a  pelt- 
ing shower.  We  were  first  aligned  for  calisthenics, 
but  were  dismissed  on  accoimt  of  Shower  No.  i, 
a  driving  rain  that  lasted  half  an  hour.    Now  we 


AT  PLATTSBURG  169 

were  just  ready  for  parade — think  what  it  would 
have  been  on  that  slimy,  soggy  ground ! — when  the 
approach  of  Shower  No.  2  sent  us  all  to  cover. 
It  is  pelting  furiously;  Pickle  and  Knudsen,  with 
the  intrenching  tools  which  luckily  were  served 
out  to  us  this  afternoon,  are  digging  frantically 
to  keep  the  water  away  from  their  suit-cases. 
Through  the  tied  flaps  of  the  doorway  Clay  has 
been  yelling  at  Squad  Nine,  our  opposite  neigh- 
bors, and  there  is  the  greatest  joy  and  confusion. 
Knudsen  having  finished  his  job,  is  jeering  at 
Pickle,  who  had  promised  to  be  first.  And  now 
he  has  taken  Pickle  in  hand,  and  is  showing  him 
his  mistakes.  It  is  thundering  and  lightening.  "  I 
don't  see,"  says  David  with  slow  wonderment, 
"how  it  can  rain  much  harder."  Now  Knudsen, 
at  the  door,  imitates  the  first  sergeant's  whistle 
and  alarms  our  neighbors,  who  peer  anxiously  out. 
"Corporals,  get  your  men  out !"  cries  he,  laughing 
heartily  as  the  others  consult.  "They  look  like  a 
bunch  of  dogs,"  says  he,  "with  their  heads  sticking 
out  of  their  kennels."  Now  it  slackens,  I  hear 
laughter  in  the  street,  and  in  comes  a  neighbor. 
"Boys,  it's  a  scream!  There's  four  inches  of 
water  in  the  next  two  tents.  Their  baggage  is  all 
afloat." 

(Later.)  The  rain  slackening  just  then,  out  we 
all  swarmed,  the  whole  street  becoming  aHve  with 
men,  who  with  shouts  crowded  toward  the  great 
puddle  which  completely  filled  the  breadth  of  the 
street,  and  had  flooded  tents  Four  and  Six.  Look- 


170  AT  PLATTSBURG 

ing  into  these,  I  saw  the  ghmmer  of  lantern-light 
reflected  on  water,  the  beds  moved  about  and 
piled  with  baggage.  The  sandy  soil  can  drain  an 
ordinary  shower,  but  this  was  too  heavy,  and  there 
was  but  one  thing  to  try.  Yelling,  some  fifteen 
men  got  out  their  intrenching  tools  and  began  to 
dig  a  ditch  to  lead  the  water  off  to  the  field  below. 
At  first  I  thought  they  could  not  do  it,  for  the 
ridge  was  at  least  two  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
puddle.  But  leaving  enough  earth  to  form  a  dam, 
the  men  in  a  line  so  vigorously  worked  the  strong 
little  shovels  that  in  scarcely  more  than  five 
minutes  they  were  ready  to  break  down  the  dam. 
They  broke  it,  the  water  came  pouring  through, 
and  with  cheers  the  men  kept  the  channel  clear. 
With  great  brooms  the  men  of  tents  Four  and  Six 
swept  out  their  domiciles,  other  men  dug  the 
channel  deeper,  still  others  on  the  further  slope 
kept  the  flood  from  the  other  tents,  and  as  we 
formed  for  supper  (the  two  parts  of  the  company 
on  the  two  sides  of  the  dividing  puddle)  the  lake 
was  more  than  half  drained  away.  By  the  time 
we  came  back  from  mess  the  puddle  was  clean 
gone,  and  the  captain  was  devising  means  to  get 
the  men  of  tents  Four  and  Six  in  dry  quarters  for 
the  night. 

And  now  to  take  up  my  narrative,  earlier 
broken  off. — The  major,  as  we  were  assembled 
for  the  oath,  said  a  few  words  in  explanation  of 
it,  then  read  it  aloud,  while  we  stood  with  hats  off 
and  right  hands  raised,  before  the  flag.    At  the 


AT  PLATTSBIIRG  171 

end  each  man  said  "I  do !''  and  then  one  by  one 
we  acknowledged  our  signatures  on  our  slips.  So 
I  am  now  enhsted  in  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
boimd  to  obey  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of 
War,  and  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  our  superior 
officers. 

But  they  have  been  merciful  to  us  today  in 
sparing  us  two  soakings,  and  I  have  had  my  own 
personal  share.  While  we  were  standing,  waiting 
for  the  major  to  come  and  give  us  the  oath,  the 
captain's  eye  fell  on  me.  Evidently  he  pondered 
for  a  moment,  then  he  beckoned  me  out  of  the 
ranks.  Said  he,  "I  thought  you  weren't  to  take 
the  oath."  I  answered,  "I  have  always  meant 
to  take  it,  sir."  "Oh,"  said  he,  "then  I  was  mis- 
informed. Well,  that  is  what  prevented  me  from 
making  you  sub-squad-leader,  and  I'll  do  it  to- 
day. Just  say  nothing  about  it  beforehand." 
So  I  saluted  and  stepped  back.  When  we  were 
lined  up  in  the  company  street  again  (having  first 
put  our  sweaters  on  by  our  own  decision,  and  then 
having  taken  them  off  by  order  of  the  major,  who 
presently  took  us  to  regimental  drill  on  the  parade 
groimd)  the  lieutenant  annoimced,  "Mr.  God- 
win will  be  sub-squad-leader  in  Squad  Eight." 
So  I  dropped  back  into  the  rear  rank,  my  rear- 
rank  man  took  my  place,  Reardon  gave  place  to 
me,  and  the  other  men  moved  to  niunbers  two 
and  one.  In  that  order  we  drilled,  and  good  Rear- 
don showed  me  his  duties.  To  make  sure  that 
the  change  is  permanent.  Bannister  asked  the 


172  AT  PLATTSBURG 

captain,  and  here  I  am  installed  in  a  very  minor 
ofl&ce. 

I  am  out  of  the  front  rank  now,  but  the  parades, 
which  it  is  interesting  to  watch,  are  all  over,  and 
I  shaU  get  acquainted  with  still  another  set  of  our 
neighbors.  On  the  hike  I  shall  still  march  on  the 
outside  of  the  column,  which  gives  some  freedom 
of  action,  and  as  Kjiudsen  contends,  better  air. 
Reardon  is  very  nice  about  the  change;  the  boys 
all  recognize  it  as  coming  from  my  bluff  at  giving 
orders.  Yet  Reardon  showed,  as  I  drill  beside 
him  today,  that  he  knows  more  of  the  business 
than  I  do. 

Bannister  shook  his  fist  at  me.  "  Consam  ye," 
(he  imitates  the  farmer  to  perfection)  "yer 
shan't  git  my  job !'' 

"Coming  strong!"  I  answered. 

Knudsen,  with  the  energy  and  tact  which  char- 
acterize him,  has  reorganized  the  squad  on  the 
basis  of  this  change  of  mine,  moving  the  men 
about  so  that  he  has  David  as  his  rear  rank  man, 
which  means  that  they  sleep  in  the  same  tent  on 
the  hike,  and  that  Knudsen  still  has  the  boy  in 
charge.  Of  course  Bannister  agreed  to  it  all.  He 
and  I  shall  tent  together. 

Corder  feels  that  he  has  had  a  narrow  escape. 
The  captain  sent  for  him  and  offered  him  the 
position  of  equipment  sergeant,  or  some  such 
title,  which  means  some  minor  responsibility  and 
a  seat  on  one  of  the  baggage  trucks.  Corder, 
in  a  panic,  begged  permission  to  stay  with  the 


AT  PLATTSBURG  173 

squad  and  cany  his  gun;  and  the  captain,  saying 
how  disgusted  the  bugler  was  with  his  new  job, 
and  that  two  disappointed  men  in  the  company 
were  more  than  he  could  stand,  let  him  off.  Cor- 
der,  after  telling  us  the  tale,  got  out  his  mirror 
and  studied  himself.  "It's  all  this  confounded 
beard  of  mine,"  he  complained.  "I'm  only  forty- 
five,  and  my  hair  is  stiU  black,  but  the  thing  has 
turned  gray  and  makes  me  seem  old.  It's  sicken- 
ing to  have  the  fellows  so  thoughtful  of  me. 
Godwin,  if  ever  you  get  respectful,  I'll  slay  you." 

The  shooting  records  are  posted,  and  to  our 
great  satisfaction  our  company  stands  best. 
That  doesn't  mean  that  we  have  the  highest  in- 
dividual score,  or  even  the  greatest  number  of 
expert  riflemen.  But  it  does  mean  that  we  have 
both  the  most  men  in  all  three  qualified  grades 
and  the  highest  average  score  per  man.  Prac- 
tically that  means  that  of  all  the  six  companies 
we  should  be  deadHest  against  an  infantry  attack, 
also  that  as  a  consequence  we  should  ourselves 
be  safest.  As  Pickle  says,  "The  captain  has  done 
one  good  job." 

The  forehanded  among  us  (and  yet  after  all  we 
are  at  it  pretty  late)  are  making  maps  for  the  hike 
in  imitation  of  those  which  the  officers  have  posted 
for  us  to  study.  At  the  Exchange  can  be  bought 
contour  maps  of  all  this  region,  covering  the  whole 
area  of  the  hike.  These  we  are  cutting  out  in 
squares  and  pasting  on  linen,  cheese-cloth,  or 
even  mosquito  netting.    Then  we  mark  on  them 


174  AT  PLATTSBURG 

the  camps,  the  route,  and  all  along  the  way  the 
important  cross-roads  within  a  mile  of  our  march, 
which  we  number  according  to  the  officers'  sample. 
If  after  this  we  can  get  some  shellac,  we  coat  the 
map  against  the  weather.  Had  I  only  known 
enough,  I  should  have  brought  with  me  proper 
cloth,  glue  and  shellac  for  this  purpose;  for  of 
coiurse  the  rush  for  these  materials  has  practically 
used  up  all  neighboring  supphes. 

Between  showers  today  we  have  begun  our 
preparations  for  the  hike,  directions  concerning 
which  were  read  us.  We  have  turned  in  our  con- 
diment-cans and  bacon-tins — so  much  less  weight 
to  carry.  David  is  in  secret  dismay  over  the  small 
equipment  which  is  allowed  us,  and  has  spent 
many  long  minutes  over  the  beautiful  little  sole 
leather  trunk  which  he  keeps  under  his  cot,  and 
which  contains  so  many  knickknacks.  He  has 
been  making  little  piles  here,  and  little  piles  there, 
and  then,  with  knitted  brow,  changing  them  all 
about.  He  has  not  asked  for  advice,  and  none 
of  us  has  offered  it.  Pickle,  whose  personal  out- 
fit is  of  the  most  meagre,  has  been  watching  him 
in  delight. 

However,  David  is  permanently  lightened  of 
one  part  of  his  equipment.  Word  went  roimd 
that  we  were  to  have  rifle-inspection,  at  which 
there  rose  in  the  tent  a  great  clamor  for  patches, 
of  which  we  had  none,  nor  the  store  tent  either. 
David  was  absent,  and  Knudsen,  saying  "  I'll  get 
patches,"  asked  Clay  for  his  surgical  scissors. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  175 

and  going  to  David's  cot,  took  from  the  great 
collection  of  conveniences  which  the  boy  still 
hoped  to  take  with  him,  a  set  of  his  beautiful  silk 
pajamas.  The  jacket  Knudsen  tore  into  strips 
(we  all  the  while  watching  in  pregnant  silence) 
then  cut  them  into  squares,  and  when  David  re- 
turned we  were  all  at  work  on  our  guns. 

"They  tell  me,"  he  said,  "that  we're  to  have 
,  rifle  inspection.    Have  you  fellows  any  patches  ? '' 

"  Plenty,"  said  Knudsen,  and  handed  him  some 
made  out  of  the  gaudiest  part  of  the  pattern. 

David,  as  he  inspected  these,  first  grew  very 
red,  then  hastily  demanded,  "Who  cut  these 
up?" 

"I  did,"  said  Knudsen  very  serenely.  "No 
pajamas  on  the  hike,  David." 

And  the  boy,  who  is  still  very  proud  of  coming 
into  his  own  name,  laughed,  asked  for  Clay's 
scissors,  and  cut  up  the  rest  of  his  suit.  Then  he 
stuffed  into  his  trunk  the  other  pair  which  he  had 
intended  to  take  with  him  on  the  hike. 

One  last  story,  to  show  a  different  side  of  our 
Plattsburg  activities.  You  know  we  have  a 
cavalry  camp  here,  and  a  medical  department, 
where  volimteers  come  exactly  as  to  our  infantry 
regiment.  Well,  Corder  came  back  from  the 
medicos  lately,  where  he  went  to  visit  a  friend, 
with  a  great  tale  of  the  mending  of  a  cavalryman's 
broken  jaw  by  one  of  the  volunteer  surgeons,  a 
Boston  dentist.  Corder,  being  professor-like  in 
appearance,  was  not  detected  as  an  impostor,  and 


176  AT  PLATTSBURG 

stood  close  at  hand  in  the  ring  of  doctors  who 
watched  the  cHnic. 

"It  was  done  under  field  conditions,"  said  he, 
"  the  operator  using  only  an  alcohol  lamp,  a  small 
pair  of  nippers,  and  about  eight  inches  of  ordinary 
electric  Hght  wire,  which  happened  to  be  handy. 
The  insulation  was  scraped  from  the  cable,  and 
its  various  fine  wires  were  burned  clean  in  the 
flame  of  the  lamp.  The  rookie  was  then  put  on  a, 
table  in  the  company  street,  and  the  doctor  took 
a  turn  with  one  of  the  fine  wires  around  a  tooth 
behind  the  break,  twisting  the  ends  together. 
The  same  was  done  with  a  tooth  in  front  of  the 
break;  and  then  in  the  upper  jaw  wires  were 
twisted  around  teeth  above  the  lower  two.  An 
assistant  then  held  the  broken  jaw  in  place,  and 
the  doctor  twisted  tight  together  the  wires  from 
the  lower  back  tooth  and  the  upper  front  tooth, 
and  then  those  from  the  upper  back  tooth  and 
the  lower  front  tooth.  He  cut  off  the  ends,  made 
all  smooth,  and  the  work  was  done,  all  in  a  very 
few  minutes.  The  jaw  could  not  move,  and  was 
boimd  to  heal  perfectly.  The  doctors  all  said 
they  never  had  seen  anything  so  simple  or  so 
clever." 

We  thought  the  same;  Clay,  as  a  budding  doc- 
tor, was  envious  of  Corder  for  having  seen  it. 
"Too  bad  for  the  chap  to  lose  the  hike,"  said 
Bannister. 

"He  won't  lose  it!"  replied  Corder.  "The 
fellow  can  drink,  of  course.     He  can  get  any 


AT  PLATTSBURG  177 

liquid,  or  even  a  cereal  or  a  stew,  around  behind 
his  back  teeth,  so  he's  simply  going  right  along 
with  us." 

So  much  for  smartness,  and  for  grit ! 

The  showers  lasting  long  enough  to  spoil  con- 
ferences, and  then  the  sky  clearing,  I  went  this 
evening  to  say  good-by  to  Vera,  which  I  had 
half  promised  to  do.  David,  by  the  way,  to  whom 
a  social  duty  used  to  be  sacred,  called  yesterday 
afternoon,  as  Knudsen  suggested,  and  was  man- 
fully relieved  to  find  her  out.  But  I  found  her 
in,  and  alone.  She  told  me  that  her  sister  Frances 
was  coming,  made  rather  a  point  of  it,  expecting 
me  to  manage  to  see  her,  though  on  the  hike  how 
can  I?  There  was  a  delightful  old  colonel  there, 
who  rather  took  to  me,  and  when  on  the  coming 
of  Lieutenant  Pendleton  I  natiurally  tried  to  make 
myself  scarce,  the  colonel  took  me  into  his  study 
to  show  me  the  service  pistol  that  they  used  in 
his  day.  And  when  finally  I  took  my  leave  of 
him,  on  my  way  out  (missing  the  front  door  and 
blundering  into  the  parlor)  I  ran  into  the  most 
distressing  sort  of  scene. 

Pendleton  and  Kirby  were  both  there,  and  the 
captain  having  his  hat  in  his  hand,  I  imagine  he'd 
only  just  come.  The  lieutenant  was  fiery  red;  I 
think  I  know  the  look  of  a  man  when  he's  been 
turned  down,  and  I  saw  it  in  his  face.  Vera  was 
in  that  cold  and  lofty  mood  of  hers  when  nothing 
counts  but  the  idea  she  has  in  mind;  no  one  see- 
ing her  so  would  think  she  ever  again  could  be 


,   T 


fta^r 


jie:a  i: 


-liij^u:.^ 


I 

ixirji  yr\  mm 


tf  Miiicut 


AT  PLATTSBURG  179 

captain,  a  different  picture.  He  was  as  straight 
as  a — ^well,  as  a  soldier,  which  he  was,  every  inch 
of  him,  with  his  head  up  and  his  jaw  set.  I  sa- 
luted, and  he  returned  the  salute,  always  with 
that  searc'iing  look  at  me  which  now  I'm  sure  of 
the  meaning  of.    Yes,  Vera's  got  him  too. 

It's  time,  for  every  reason,  that  we  were  away 
from  here. 

Dick. 


From  Vera  Wadsworth  to  Her  Sister  Frances 

Plattsburg  Post,  Sept.  23,  igi6. 

Dear  Frances: — 

I  am  so  glad  you  are  coming,  but  wish  you  were 
coming  by  train  instead  of  with  the  Chapmans 
in  their  car.  For  I  can't  get  you  here  a  minute 
too  soon,  nor  have  you  too  much  to  myself.  The 
Chapmans  say  they  want  to  see  a  hike  camp,  and 
how  can  I  excuse  myself  from  going  too  ? 

Everything  has  gone  wrong,  quite  wrong.  I 
thought  I  could  keep  the  lieutenant  off,  but  I 
did  not  realize  what  a  soldier  is.  Last  night  he 
had  to  have  his  answer,  and  I  was  telling  him  as 
gently  as  I  could,  when  the  stupid  servant  opened 
the  front  door  to  the  captain  and  let  him  make 
his  own  way  into  the  parlor,  where  he  stood  before 
I  had  heard  a  soxmd.  If  he  didn't  see  what  was 
going  on,  he  was  blind. 

And  then  I  lost  my  head  over  the  sudden  no- 
tion that  here  was  my  chance  to  get  rid  of  him 
too.  For  the  man  frightens  me,  Frances;  I  never 
met  one  who  was  so  steady  and  so  determined 
and  so  strong.  Maybe  I  blundered;  I  don't  know. 
But  I  can't  have  him  getting  to  know  me  any 
better;  I  want  never  to  see  him  again.  So  I  said 
(I  know  I  stiffened  horribly  as  I  said  it,  the  thing 
was  so  uncalled  for  and  so  un-nice)  "The  lieu- 
tenant and  I  were  just  discussing  army  life,  cap- 

180 


AT  PLATTSBURG  i8i 

tain,  and  how  little  it  has  for  a  woman.  For  a 
man  ought  to  be  able  to  offer  the  best  that  there 
is."  It  hurt  him;  it  hurt  his  opinion  of  me.  He 
went  away  almost  without  a  word.  I  never  was 
so  ashamed;  never  before  have  I  felt  like  a 
butcher.  But  if  I  meant  it  why  shouldn't  I  say 
it?    Let  him  hate  me,  if  only  he  lets  me  alone. 

They  march  out  Monday,  and  as  I  hear  the 
drums  go  by  on  the  main  road  I  shall  be  glad. 
But  I  do  so  want  to  see  you.  Hurry  the  Chap- 
mans  all  you  can. 

Longingly, 

Vera. 


From  David  Ridgway  Farnham,  3D,  to  His 
Father 

Plaitsburgf  Sunday  the  24th, 

Dear  Father: — 

I  am  writing  just  a  few  lines  to  say  that  we 
are  ofi  tomorrow  on  the  hike,  in  light  marching 
order,  and  with  very  little  bagage.  I  shall  not 
even  take  my  pajjamas.  But  I'd  rather  you 
wouldn't  tell  mother  this;  it  would  upset  her. 
Will  you  tell  her  that  I'm  really  too  busy  to 
write,  but  that  I'm  in  very  fine  condition,  and 
she's  not  to  worry  about  me  ?  And  she  said  in  her 
last  letter  something  about  taking  a  trip  up  here 
so  as  to  be  near  us  on  the  hike  if  anything  should 
happen  to  me.  This  is  really  what  I'm  writing 
you  about.  Please  stop  her,  father.  I'd  really 
rather  she  wouldn't  even  be  here  when  we  break 
camp  to  take  me  home  in  the  car.  For  I'd  like 
to  go  home  with  the  Boston  bunch  in  the  train. 

I  think  in  my  earher  letters  I  wasn't  fair  to 
some  of  the  fellows  in  our  squad.  Perhaps  I 
didn't  know  how  to  get  at  them  at  first.  Even 
now  I  don't  suppose  mother  would  see  anything 
in  them;  yet  I'm  sure  that  if  I  could  introduce 
you  to  them  you'd  imderstand  why  I  like  them. 

Just  keep  mother  from  wonying  about  me  on 
the  hike.    I  shall  be  all  right.    Affectionatly, 

David. 


183 


From  Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Plattshurg,  Sunday  the  24th. 

Dear  Mother: — 

This  morning  it  has  turned  chilly,  without  sun, 
and  with  clouds  threatening  more  rain.  As  be- 
fore, I  did  some  washing  before  breakfast,  and 
now  have  on  the  line  considerable  of  my  laundry, 
which  I  am  anxiously  feeling  of  from  time  to 
time.  If  it  does  not  dry,  then  I  shall  have  to  buy 
some  new  things  for  tomorrow. 

There  being  no  duties  today,  men  are  neglect- 
ing church  and  getting  ready  for  the  hike.  We 
must  turn  in  our  mattress  covers,  pillow  slips, 
barrack  bags,  and  for  those  who  do  not  wish  to 
buy,  the  overcoats.  The  captain  has  sent  out 
word  that  overcoats  may  be  bought,  and  I  have 
secured  mine  by  the  payment  of  $9.96;  for  those 
who  have  not  the  change,  the  price  is  $10.  Down 
the  street  from  the  store-tent  extends  a  line  of 
men  with  their  surplus  in  their  arms,  while  I  take 
advantage  of  their  necessarily  slow  progress  to 
write  this  to  you.  One  of  my  pillow-slips  I  shall 
retain  by  the  sacrifice  of  seven  cents;  it  shall 
serve  as  a  bag  to  keep  my  extra  things  together 
on  the  march. 

Men  are  making  sure  of  their  homeward  ac- 
commodations.   When  I  went  to  the  D.  &  H. 

183 


1 84  AT  PLATTSBURG 

tent  it  was  so  full  of  waiting  men  that  I  came 
away,  and  must  go  again.  So  much  for  neglect- 
ing a  duty  till  the  last. 

Word  has  just  gone  down  the  street  that  we 
must  pack  this  morning  for  the  hike,  and  give 
our  bags  in  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  for  storage.  So 
we  shall  be  on  a  hike  basis  from  now  on,  and  to- 
night I  shall  sleep  in  my  clothes,  with  my  blan- 
kets and  poncho  made  up  into  a  sleeping  bag. 
It  is  wonderful  what  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  does  for 
us,  giving  to  all  who  come  every  kiud  of  informa- 
tion, cashing  our  checks,  supplying  pen  and  ink 
and  paper  to  the  epistolary,  and  giving  minor 
helps  constantly.  It  is  to  them  a  very  burden- 
some expense,  which  they  have  no  fund  to  meet. 
I  shall  leave  something  behind  to  show  my  ap- 
preciation. 

For  the  coming  ten  days  I  have  gone  into 
woollens  for  the  first  time  in  years,  on  accoimt  of 
the  expected  contact  with  mother  earth.  I  shall 
carry  three  pair  of  stockings,  a  change  of  under- 
wear, an  extra  shirt  and  extra  trousers  and  shoes, 
and  a  light  sweater  to  supplement  my  service 
one,  with  several  small  conveniences.  We  shall 
live  rough  and  rather  dirty,  and  the  hike  will 
finish  much  of  the  outfit. 

— ^It  is  evening,  and  I  am  all  ready.  The  day 
has  been  given  to  sorting  and  packing,  storing 
my  suit-case,  getting  my  berth  home,  and  again 
sorting,  and  again  packing.  For  when  we  tried 
to  stufi  into  the  squad-bag  the  eight  bundles  that 


AT  PLATTSBURG  185 

we  made  of  our  extra  belongings,  it  happened  as 
we  might  have  expected,  and  we  had  to  discard 
half  of  our  dimnage.  Here  is  my  final  equip- 
ment. 

In  my  belt,  thirty  blank  cartridges,  and  in  the 
extra  pockets  my  flashlight,  some  surgeon's  plas- 
ter, and  some  of  David's  silk  patches. 

In  my  pocket  the  foot-powder  which  it  is  my 
duty  to  carry  as  sub-squad-leader.  (The  other 
men  carry  the  intrenching  tools  and  the  wire- 
cutter.  The  corporal  carries  nothing  but  the 
weight  of  his  responsibihties.) 

In  my  pack  the  usual  shelter-half,  poncho, 
blanket,  tent-pins,  rope,  meat-can,  knife  and  fork 
and  spoon,  with  bayonet.  In  addition  I  stuff  in 
an  o.  d.  shirt  (it  dried  today !)  a  towel,  soap, 
tooth-brush,  shaving  things  etc.,  a  pair  of  socks, 
and  my  map. 

In  the  pillow-case  in  the  squad-bag,  shoes, 
trousers,  change  of  underwear  and  socks,  towel, 
writing  materials,  sewing  things. 

In  the  squad-roll  the  blankets  and  sweaters. 

Cool  weather  is  certain,  and  having  heard  that 
the  captain  may  send  back  for  our  coats,  we  who 
have  bought  ours  have  deposited  them  at  the 
store-tent  for  this  purpose. 

My  map  I  have  at  last  finished  with  much 
clumsy  care;  dozens  of  us  have  spent  hours  today 
at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  absorbed  in  this  work,  which 
with  the  accurate  inking  of  the  route  and  cross- 
roads, has  been  rather  minute.    The  numbering 


i86  AT  PLATTSBURG 

of  many  cross-roads  is  very  significant  of  the 
skirmishes  that  await  us. 

The  mail  follows  us;  the  address  is  unchanged. 

Tonight  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  full  of  men  sending 
last  letters  home.  Several  have  dropped  out  of 
the  company,  on  account  of  feet  or  knees  or  di- 
gestion, or  else  from  natural  business  reasons. 
The  company  is  sad  to  learn  that  we  start  without 
Loretta,  business  calling  him  home  for  a  few  days. 
But  we  shall  be  glad  to  see  him  when  he  comes. 

Today  I  ventured  something,  the  results  of 
which,  if  there  are  any,  I  suppose  I  shall  never 
know.  Our  two  ofiicers  have  been  very  much 
on  my  mind.  Pendleton  has  been  his  usual  seH 
emphasized,  very  much  on  his  job  of  receiving 
the  equipment,  extra  clear  and  precise,  more  sub- 
tle and  more  distant  in  his  Httle  ironical  smile. 
The  captain,  also  busy  with  the  equipment  work, 
was  surprisingly  gentle,  patient  with  all  our  many 
blunders,  very  quiet  spoken,  and  somehow  closer 
to  us.  But  while  he  attended  to  us  so  carefully, 
somehow  I  felt  that  he  was  thinking  of  something 
else. 

Now  last  night  Pendleton,  I  thank  God,  could 
not  have  seen  me  at  the  portieres,  nor  could  Vera. 
But  the  captain  might  have,  for  he  faced  my  way; 
surely  he  must  have  seen  the  curtains  open.  If 
he  recognized  me,  I  know  he  must  have  thought 
of  it  today  when,  the  last  of  the  men  gone,  and 
his  talHes  all  made  up,  he  stood  up  from  the  table 
that  had  been  placed  in  front  of  his  tent,  just 


AT  PLATTSBURG  187 

as  I  came  along  by.  We  were  entirely  apart 
from  the  rest;  so  I,  having  thought  a  good  deal 
on  how  far  I  could  venture,  took  my  chance  to 
speak. 

I  had  to  be  quick,  or  he  would  have  stopped 
me.  Said  I:  " Miss  Wadsworth  doesn't  Hve  down 
to  her  theories,  captain.  Certainly  she  didn't 
do  it  in  my  case." 

Then,  saluting,  I  was  off.  By  the  gleam  that 
had  sprung  to  his  eyes  I  knew  that  he  understood 
me,  even  though  he  said  nothing.  For  of  course 
he  has  been  wondering  whether  after  all  I  have 
a  chance  with  Vera,  and  has  been  weighing  his 
earnings  against  mine. 

Dreary  business,  this  love  making.  Lucky 
I'm  out  of  it. 

Dick. 


Vera  Wadsworth  to  Her  Sister  Frances 

Plattshurg,  Monday  the  2$th. 

Dear  Frances: — 

In  spite  of  my  trying  to  stop  it,  it  has  hap- 
pened. 

He  came  walking  in  yesterday  evening,  when  I 
was  all  by  myself  in  the  parlor.  I  have  told  you, 
you  remember,  that  one  of  his  quahties  is  a  strange 
gentleness.  He  told  me,  in  that  manner  of  his, 
that  he  would  take  only  a  minute  of  my  time,  and 
while  I  sat  perfectly  tongue-tied  before  him,  as  if 
I  were  a  schoolgirl,  this  is  what  he  said,  without 
any  passionate  declaration,  or  any  self-assertion. 

"I  came  last  night.  Miss  Wadsworth,  to  tell 
you  that  I  loved  you.  You  saw  it  and  stopped 
me.  There  seemed  no  answer  to  you  then,  but  I 
have  foimd  one  now,  and  I  think  you  ought  to 
let  me  say  it. 

"You  said  that  a  man  ought  to  be  able  to 
ofifer  to  a  woman  the  best  that  there  is.  I  came 
to  offer  it.  Our  army  women  serve  their  coimtry, 
not  as  we  men  do,  yet  they  do  serve  the  flag,  and 
unselfishly.  There  is  really  nothing  better  that 
can  be  done  by  man  or  woman. 

"There  is  only  one  other  thing  that  seems  to 
me  worth  while.  It  makes  the  cottage  the  equal 
of  the  palace.  I  brought  it — ^honest  love.  No 
true  woman  can  ask  more." 

i88 


AT  PLATTSBURG  189 

Then  he  went  away.  I  could  not  stop  him; 
could  not  try  to  explain.  How  could  I  say  any- 
thing against  those  awful  words?  Besides,  he 
spoke  with  such  a  thrill  as  if  he  were  showing  me 
his  religion.  A  dreadful  simpHcity  of  belief!  I 
know  all  his  words  by  heart.  All  night  long  I 
have  been  saying  them  over  and  over;  and  when 
this  morning  I  heard  the  drums,  it  was  as  if  they 
said  them  too. 

Do  come  quickly  to  your 

Vera. 


Private  Godwin^s  First  Hike  Letter 

West  Beekmantown,  N.  Y. 
Monday  the  25th,  3  P.  M. 

Dear  Mother: — 

How  glad  I  was,  at  the  end  of  today's  hike,  to 
march  into  the  big  field  (where  the  cook  tents 
already  stood  with  smoking  fires  before  them) 
to  have  the  two  halves  of  the  company  line  up 
facing  each  other,  and  to  hear  the  captain  com- 
mand, "Form  for  shelter  tents!" 

The  file-closers  scurried  round  and  got  into  the 
vacant  places.  Every  man  gave  an  anticipatory 
hitch  at  the  pack  that  had  gradually  grown  so 
heavy;  and  the  front  rank  men,  if  they  thought 
the  captain  was  not  looking,  loosened  their 
bayonets  in  their  sheaths. 

"Take  interval,  to  the  right  and  left!"  We 
rear  rank  men  stepped  four  paces  backward. 

"Harch!"  Both  ranks  faced  away  from  the 
cook  tents,  and  the  lieutenant  began  to  count, 
^^One — ^two — three — four — One — two — three — 
four!"  and  at  every  One  a  pair  of  men,  front 
and  rear  rank  bunkies,  stepped  off  together,  till 
the  whole  company  was  marching  by  pairs,  at 
intervals  of  four  paces,  and  the  captain  thimdered 
orders  to  the  guides  to  march  straight. 

"Halt!"  And  halting,-  we  faced  inward  to 
what  was  to  be  the  company  street.  I  imclasped 
my  belt. 

190 


AT  PLATTSBURG  191 

"Pitch  shelter  tents !''  Out  came  the  bayonets 
of  the  front  rank  men,  and  were  thrust  into  the 
ground  at  the  right  heel.  Then  down  with  the 
rifles,  ojff  with  the  packs,  and  we  on  our  knees 
were  hastily  opening  them  and  dragging  out  the 
shelter-halves,  the  pins,  and  the  ropes.  Bann 
and  I  laid  the  long  sides  of  our  halves  together, 
lapping  the  upper  one  away  from  the  wind,  and 
buttoned  them  along  (how  glad  I  was  that  we 
practised  this  yesterday,  found  where  a  loop  was 
missing  and  some  button-holes  torn,  and  made 
everything  good!)  The  ropes  were  tied  in  the 
loops,  Bann's  rifle  was  stood  beside  his  bayonet, 
the  muzzle  beneath  the  front  loop;  we  aligned  our 
sloping  ridgepole  at  right  angles  to  the  street, 
drove  in  our  front  and  rear  pins  and  tied  the  ropes, 
and  then  I,  creeping  into  the  tent  with  my  bayo- 
net in  its  sheath,  set  it  upright  under  the  end  of 
the  ridge.  Then  quickly  we  pegged  down  the 
sides  and  back,  stretching  them  well  out,  laid  back 
the  front  flaps  of  our  kennel,  set  our  equipment 
in  the  double  doorway,  passed  the  inspection  of 
the  Heutenant,  and  felt  proud.  Then  mess,  with 
its  stew  and  its  vegetables,  its  bread  and  butter, 
and  even  with  milk,  which  we  are  warned  we  may 
never  see  again.  Since  when  we  have  been  retro- 
specting,  doctoring,  washing  at  a  poor  apology 
for  a  brook,  and  making  ourselves  comfortable 
in  anticipation  of  Retreat  and  of  the  night. 

Remarkable  things,  these  shelter  tents,  just 
broad  enough  at  the  front  for  the  shoulders  of 


192  AT  PLATTSBURG  / 

two  men,  and  at  the  back  for  their  feet,  with 
a  further  recess  for  the  equipment.  Along  the 
edges  can  be  stowed  the  toilet  articles  and  such 
things  as  need  to  be  handy,  with  the  spare  rifle. 
After  removing  aU  boulders  from  the  floor,  and 
digging  hollows  for  our  hips,  we  have  carpeted 
with  straw,  bought  of  a  thrifty  farmer  who  hauled 
it  here  and  sold  for  twenty-five  cents  per  poncho- 
or  blanket-load.  We  now  know  a  little  better  the 
meaning  of  the  term  buzzard.  On  the  thick 
layer  we  have  made  our  beds,  some  of  the  fellows' 
together,  but  Bann's  and  mine  separately,  for  I 
have  warned  him  that  I  am  a  restless  sleeper. 
On  my  tummy  on  my  sleeping  bag  I  am  writing 
to  you  now. 

We  have  already  discovered  that  since  we  must 
have  our  rifles  for  Retreat  it  is  wise  to  have  poles 
for  our  tents,  and  so  they  have  mysteriously 
appeared  from  the  neighboring  woods.  They  will 
travel  in  the  blanket  rolls  from  camp  to  camp. 
Should  I  come  again  to  Plattsburg  I  shall  get  a 
broom-stick  for  the  hike,  provided  with  con- 
veniences for  hanging  socks,  tooth-brush,  and 
candle-socket.  Fellows  are  tying  candles  to  their 
poles  with  string,  convenient  enough  till  the  string 
burns  and  the  candle  tumbles  down  into  the  straw. 

I  can  imagine  difficulty  in  pitching  tents  under 
other  circumstances  than  are  provided  by  this 
ideal  afternoon.  In  the  rain  we  shan't  care  to 
have  the  tents  face  the  wind,  nor  shall  we  enjoy 
setting  up  tents  in  a  gale,  when  we  shall  also  hope 


AT  PLATTSBURG  193 

for  better  holding  ground  for  the  short  tent-pins 
than  we  find  here  in  this  gravel.  As  it  is,  we  have 
piled  stones  on  the  pins  today.  Some  fellows 
have  ditched  their  tents,  but  Bann  and  I  don^t 
see  the  need  of  that  except  with  more  of  a  threat 
of  rain  than  is  given  by  this  cloudless  sky. 

Now  if  you  can  imagine  in  a  field,  sloping 
gently  to  the  west,  some  four  hundred  and  fiity 
or  more  of  these  pup-tents,  with  a  thousand  men 
or  less  swarming  around  and  in  them,  some  com- 
ing back  from  a  bath  in  the  brook,  some  cleaning 
guns,  some  making  fireplaces  for  an  evening  fire, 
some  napping,  some  writing;  if  you  can  hear 
much  talk  and  laughter,  the  chopping  of  axes 
at  the  cook  tents,  the  call  "Corporals,  come  and 
get  your  niail  for  your  squads!"  then  you  can 
imderstand  what  a  Hvely,  busy  place  this  is. 
Just  across  the  fence  is  a  camp  of  cavalry;  there 
is  a  squadron  in  our  field  also.  Running  across 
the  heads  of  the  streets  are  the  big  cook  tents; 
close  by  are  the  tents  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the 
Exchange  and  the  photographer;  elsewhere  are 
the  officer's  big  conical  tents,  each  with  the 
luxury  of  a  stove;  and  in  still  another  spot  is  the 
doctor's  tent,  not  far  from  the  shelter-tents  of 
the  band.  Men  are  idling  everywhere,  and  work- 
ing everywhere  also.  The  long  line  of  trucks  is 
drawn  up  not  far  from  the  field  entrance,  and  the 
drivers  are  tinkering  them  for  tomorrow. 

But  outside  the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  camp, 
yet  as  near  as  they  can  squeeze,  are  the  buzzards, 


194  AT  PLATTSBURG 

each  with  his  little  outfit  for  following  the  hike. 
A  scrawny  horse,  a  little  tent,  a  board  on  two 
barrels,  a  big  sign — these  with  indigestibles  con- 
stitute their  outfits.  In  the  camp  wander  men 
with  baskets,  or  boys  with  boxes,  selling  fruit, 
tobacco,  and  chocolate.  There  are  the  farmer 
folk,  too,  gawking  about  at  the  show. 

— ^And  now,  sitting  on  the  ground  near  the  bright 
lamp  of  the  telegraph  table  outside  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
tent,  while  a  dozen  others  crouch  in  the  radius  of 
its  rays,  I  am  writing  these  last  words.  Night 
has  fallen.  Inside  the  tent  men  are  almost  soHdly 
crowded  together  on  the  floor  as  they  sit  to  write 
letters,  while  yet  men  in  a  steady  stream  step 
over  and  among  them,  to  get  at  the  table  stamps, 
pen  and  ink,  and  paper. 

The  day  of  course  has  been  crowded  pretty 
full.  This  morning  at  Plattsburg  the  confusion 
in  the  company  street  was  great.  As  we  had  to 
make  up  our  blanket  rolls  before  breakfast  we 
had  to  put  our  sweaters  in  and  shiver  in  our 
shirts.  Packs  were  made  up,  tents  were  poHced, 
cots  and  mattresses  handed  in,  and  then  we  were 
off,  as  the  advance  guard  of  an  army  camped  at 
the  post.  But  today's  problem,  though  explained 
by  map  to  us  at  conference  this  afternoon,  did 
not  affect  H  company.  Our  battalion  was  only 
the  support;  the  first  battalion  carried  on  the 
necessary  skirmish  that  cleared  the  road  of  the 
cavalry,  our  opponents.  While  they  were  chasing 
them  far  from  the  line  of  march,  we  plodded  safely 


AT  PLATTSBURG  195 

along  the  macadam,  and  pitched  tents  before  the 
others. 

Concerning  the  hike,  these  facts.  My  feet  are 
imbHstered,  though  at  one  rest,  being  panic- 
stricken,  I  hastily  filled  stockings  and  shoes  with 
foot-powder.  At  another  time  I  found  the  pace 
telling  on  me,  and  was  sadly  thinking  that  I  was 
still  too  soft,  when  I  heard  grumbling  all  about  me. 
The  step  had  been  quickened,  and  all  were  feeling 
it.  At  the  grumbling  Corder  turned  to  me  a  face 
of  relief.  "Thank  Heaven !"  he  said  piously.  "I 
thought  I  was  growing  old."  Our  route  was 
through  the  edge  of  Plattsburg,  along  some  miles 
of  highway,  and  then  by  gravel  roads  to  this  camp 
near  Ryan's  Grove,  which  is  a  fine  sugar  bush  on 
the  hillside  below  us.  After  only  eight  miles  of 
road,  there  were  very  few  of  us  that  were  not  glad 
to  get  here. 

Our  system  of  serving  food  is  curious.  Each 
man  has  knife,  fork,  spoon,  canteen  cup,  and  meat 
can.  Falling  into  line  at  the  bugle  call  (in  no 
order,  every  man  for  himself)  the  knife,  fork  and 
spoon  are  stuck  into  a  legging,  and  perhaps,  until 
we  reach  the  serving  places,  the  canteen  cup  is 
also  carried  there,  by  the  handle.  The  meat-can 
is  an  oval  sauce-pan  with  a  shallow  top,  over 
which  shuts  down  its  folding  handle.  Opening 
this,  one  carries  in  one  hand  the  can  and  cover, 
in  the  other  the  cup,  and  filing  past  the  cooks, 
who  stand  in  line,  one  receives  from  each  some 
part  of  the  ration.    Then  we  retire  to  the  most 


196  AT  PLATTSBURG 

convenient  spot  to  eat,  if  we  are  hungry  come  for 
a  second  helping,  and  if  we  are  lucky,  get  it. 

Of  the  dish-washing,  since  I  know  your  passion 
for  cleanliness  and  absolute  sanitation,  I  spare 
you  the  details,  except  this  significant  one.  The 
cooks  having  retired  for  their  own  meal,  I  saw  one 
fellow  wash  his  meat-can  in  the  abandoned  coffee 
barrel,  mistaking  its  fine  rich  contents  for  the  dish- 
water. 

You  should  have  seen  our  field  at  the  coming  of 
the  dusk:  the  dying  sunset,  the  silhouetting  of  the 
upper  tents  against  the  sky,  the  coming  out  of 
the  many  fires,  and  in  the  light  of  their  flames,  re- 
flected in  the  drifting  smoke,  the  lively  picturesque- 
ness  of  the  camp.  This  is  all  accentuated  by  the 
dark.  Such  coming  and  going,  such  talking  and 
greeting,  such  stumbling  in  the  shadows  and  peer- 
ing against  the  fires — ^well,  I  never  could  have  im- 
agined it. 

I  must  turn  in,  though  with  regret  at  not  being 
able  to  buy  myseK  a  knitted  cap  for  the  night, 
against  this  sharp  cold.  The  felt  hat  will  suffer 
by  such  use,  and  besides  will  serve  badly.  Love 
from 

Dick. 

Postscript.  A  rumor  is  running  through  the 
camp  (we  are  specially  warned  not  to  believe 
rumors,  but  this  one  is  borne  out  by  the  behavior 
of  the  officers)  that  someone  in  the  regiment  has^a 
clip  of  ball  cartridges,  "swiped"  from  the  range. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  197 

The  officers  went  down  the  line  at  Retreat,  and 
besides  inspecting  the  guns,  made  every  man  turn 
out  all  the  pockets  of  his  cartridge  belt.  Nothing 
found. 


Private  Richard  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

West  Beekmantown.    Tues,  Sept.  26. 
(The  first  section  of  the  letter  is  a  mere  scrawl.) 

Dear  Mother: — 

It  is  early  dawn  on  Tuesday,  and  I  have  slept 
better,  on  "my  pallet  of  straw,"  than  many  a 
time  in  my  bed  at  home.  The  cooks  have  for 
some  time  been  stirring,  as  I  have  known  by  the 
soimd  of  their  axes,  the  crackling  of  their  fires, 
the  glow  reflected  on  their  tents,  and  their  oc- 
casional voices.  In  the  cavalry  camp  the  horses 
stamp,  I  hear  a  distant  train  and  a  dog's  bark, 
and  nearer  at  hand,  from  among  the  pup-tents, 
come  little  morning  coughs.  My  writing  is  prac- 
tically invisible  to  me  on  the  paper.  I  can  just 
see  that  I  trace  a  line. 

There  are  thistles  in  this  straw ! 

Last  night  I  saw  a  lost  soul.  Rousing,  as  I 
often  do,  at  one  o'clock,  I  stood  at  the  door  of 
the  tent,  admiring  Orion  in  the  east  and  the  con- 
stellations overhead.  I  heard  a  little  murmur  of 
complaint,  and  saw  a  man  come  stumbling  down 
the  street,  his  bare  feet  softly  thudding  on  the 
stones,  and  drawing  from  him  this  sad  sound  as 
he  came  shivering  along  in  pajamas.  He  was 
stooping  at  each  tent  and  peering  in  to  discover 
hislost  place.     So  he  passed  out  of  my  sight, 

198 


AT  PLATTSBURG  199 

but  when  I  once  more  turned  to  admire  Orion  I 
saw  the  same  imhappy  phantom  wandering  along 
the  next  company  street,  still  stumbling,  still 
shivering,  still  silently  searching  for  his  couch. 
As  for  me,  I  turned  in  again  and  slept. 

(Later,  and  more  legible.) 

We  have  broken  camp,  all  the  tents  being  struck; 
and  next  we  have  been  given  a  lesson  in  military 
neatness.  Each  company  has  had  to  poHce  its 
street,  to  fill  all  tent-ditches  and  fireplaces,  and 
to  pick^  up  each  bit  of  rubbish  and  scrap  of 
paper.  Our  squad  having  had  a  meeting  upon 
the  subject,  has  agreed  that  immediately  upon 
making  up  our  packs  we  shall  poHce  our  own 
ground,  either  bury  the  rubbish  in  the  ditches 
or  bum  it  in  the  fire,  using  if  necessary  a  Httle 
of  our  hay,  and  pile  the  rest  of  the  latter  as 
quickly  as  possible,  to  get  the  work  over  with. 
This  is  in  response  to  the  captain's  latest,  for 
finding  a  single  scrap  of  paper  as  big  as  a  post- 
age stamp  in  the  street,  he  turned  out  a  whole 
squad  to  pick  it  up.  Next  time,  he  says,  it  will 
be  a  platoon.  We  know  Kirby  too  well  by  this 
time  to  suppose  he  doesn't  mean  what  he  says. 

I  am  writing  as  I  loll  on  a  pile  of  hay,  while  my 
neighbors  are  vigorously  resenting  the  demand 
of  the  farmer  who  sold  us  the  hay  last  night, 
that  we  rise  and  relinquish  it  to  him — in  order 
that  he  may  sell  it  again  tonight.  Much  angry 
computation  as  to  his  profits  per  ton,  and  a 
warning  that,  as  on  account  of  our  ignorance  he 


200  AT  PLATTSBURG 

raised  the  tariff  on  us  yesterday,  we  should  never 
again  pay  more  than  ten  cents  per  tent. 

(As  we  stand  waiting  in  rank.) 

Orders  for  today  have  been  issued.  The  enemy 
cavahy  and  machine  guns  are  at  Sciota,  some 
miles  north  of  us.  We  are  to  go  against  them, 
with  our  battalion  as  advance  guard.  Company 
I  in  the  lead,  our  company  supporting  them  four 
hundred  yards  behind. 

(Resting  on  the  road.) 

We  have  been  marching  at  hot  speed,  having 
no  one  to  set  the  pace  for  Kirby,  now  that  at  last 
we  have  passed  I  company.  For  a  while  we  had 
to  wait  on  them  while  they  drove  the  enemy,  hear- 
ing their  firing,  and  at  every  halt  sending  out 
patrols.  At  last  we  drew  near  the  firing  line, 
which  had  been  pretty  hard  at  work,  but  which 
drew  aside  by  the  roadside  (being  either  dead  or 
out  of  ammunition)  to  let  us  go  by,  while  we  ac- 
claimed them  as  having  died  heroically  in  our 
defense.  Then  came  urgent  work  on  our  part, 
till  now,  as  we  halt,  the  platoon  leader  is  telling 
us  that  we  are  to  go  forward  over  a  wire  fence, 
deploy  behind  a  stone  wall,  and  wait  for  the  field 
battery  to  shell  the  enemy. 

— ^And  now  we  have  crawled  through  the  wire, 
and  are  comfortably  watching  the  lieutenant  of 
artillery  while,  with  his  instruments  all  fixed,  he 
is  getting  the  range  of  the  enemy,  these,  you  know, 
being  the  cavalry,  who  every  day,  I  suppose,  will 
precede  us  out  of  camp  and  try  to  make  it 


AT  PLATTSBURG  201 

lively  for  us  during  the  morning.  A  voice  asks, 
"Where  are  the  cavalry?"  and  someone  answers 
"Intrenched,"  which  is  not  so  foolish  as  it 
soimds,  they  being  equipped  for  the  purpose,  and 
being  drilled  to  fight  dismounted.  But  intrenching 
should  not  be  necessary  in  a  coimtry  provided,  as 
this  one  is,  with  stone  walls.  Other  companies 
are  deploying  on  our  left,  and  we  wait  before  that 
most  dangerous  of  all  attempts,  a  direct  frontal 
attack.  The  enemy,  the  captain  has  just  ex- 
plained, is  a  half  mile  away  across  a  slight  de- 
pression. At  Bunker  Hill  our  men  waited  till 
they  could  see  the  whites  of  the  red-coats'  eyes. 
At  Fredericksburg  oiu:  attacking  men  were  help- 
less at  a  himdred  yards.  But  here  as  soon  as  we 
have  crossed  the  wall  we  shall  be  exposed  to  a 
deadly  fire,  not  only  of  rifles,  but  of  machine  gims. 
Of  these  the  enemy  have  two  on  motor  tricycles, 
and  it  is  imderstood  that  the  call  of  their  sirens 
is  a  signal  that  they  are  in  action. 

(And  again  resting.) 

We  have  the  machine  gims,  mother  dear.  The 
cavalry  got  away,  all  but  three  or  four  of  them. 
This  was  how  it  went. 

When  the  field  artillery  had  sufficiently  pounded 
the  enemy  (and  having  but  few  rounds  this  did 
not  last  very  long)  we  were  given  the  order  to 
advance.  First  we  went  over  the  wall, — and  you 
must  remember  that  every  fence  in  this  coun- 
try, stone,  snake,  or  otherwise,  is  decorated  with 
barbed  wire — ^and  formed  our  line,  lying  flat,  a 


202  AT  PLATTSBURG 

couple  of  rods  beyond  it.  Now  we  put  in  prac- 
tice for  the  whole  battalion  the  tactics  we  had 
studied  by  platoons,  sending  men  forward  from 
the  right  by  squads  in  rushes,  making  a  new  line 
by  degrees,  always  keeping  a  constant  fire  on  the 
enemy — ^for  we  had  a  hundred  rounds  today,  so 
that  if  we  were  decently  accurate  we  should  make 
him  too  nervous  to  be  very  dangerous  in  return. 
We  went  about  fifty  yards  at  a  time,  our  sergeants 
and  platoon  leaders  in  the  rear,  behind  them  the 
captain  and  his  orderlies  and  behind  all  the  major 
and  his  aides.  Certain  ofl&cers  with  white  bands 
on  their  arms,  who  ventured  unconcernedly  into 
the  line  of  fire,  I  made  out  to  be  umpires  judging 
this  game  of  war.  For  I  find,  mother  dear,  that 
this  is  earnest  for  the  officers  as  well  as  ourselves 
— ^we  and  the  enemy  have  maps,  we  know  the 
general  conditions,  and  then  each  acts  as  in  time 
of  war,  trying  to  get  the  better  of  the  opponent. 
So  that  .if  an  officer  has  properly  trained  his  men, 
and  if  in  addition  he  shows  good  judgment,  then 
he  can  feel  that  he  is  advancing  in  his  profession. 
The  major,  working  for  the  first  time  today  with 
a  battalion  imder  him  (for  last  camp  he  was  but 
a  captain)  was  as  keen  at  the  work  as  if  real 
bullets  had  been  flying  across  the  little  valley. 
Meanwhile  the  umpires,  studying  the  strategy 
of  both  sides,  are  themselves  learning. 

Well,  we  got  forward  rush  by  rush,  firing  as  we 
lay  waiting,  getting  ready  at  the  word,  and  then 
following  Bannister  as  he  quartered  forward  to 


AT  PLATTSBURG  203 

the  right  or  left  to  join  the  new  line.  As  we  neared 
the  stone  wall  behind  which  the  enemy  was  fir- 
ing we  could  see  his  white  hat-bands,  when  to  my 
disgust  along  came  an  umpire  and  ruled  out  the 
rear  rank.  Wanting  to  be  in  at  the  death,  I 
changed  places  with  Corder,  who  was  "all  in,"  and 
so  I  finished  out  the  final  charge,  when  the  cap- 
tain came  through  the  line  with  a  rush  and  we 
up  and  followed  him  yelling.  The  enemy  very 
obligingly  vacated  the  wall  as  we  approached, 
and  all  we  saw  of  the  cavalry  was  their  dust  as 
they  departed,  except  a  squad  whom  the  lunpires 
called  back. 

One  machine  gun  I  did  not  see,  nor  have  I 
heard  how  it  was  captured.  But  one  was  stalled 
a  little  distance  behind  the  wall,  and  I  followed 
the  captain  as  he  made  for  it.  The  two  men  on 
it  were  swearing  wonderfully,  being  regulars;  the 
captain  snapped  his  pistol  in  the  air  as  he  ran, 
and  I  likewise  fired  my  gun  upwards,  it  being  the 
rule  of  this  campaign  neither  to  fire  nor  to  pre- 
sent the  bayonet  at  close  quarters.  Seeing  they 
could  not  get  away,  the  men  were  actually  ready 
to  fight,  and  I  think  had  we  been  rookies  we  might 
have  had  to  scrap  for  it;  but  seeing  an  officer  they 
saluted  and  sullenly  submitted. 

(In  camp  near  Crossroads  75,  south  of  Sciota, 
N.  Y.,  Tuesday  evening.) 

I  am  sitting  on  a  piece  of  canvas,  being 
one  among  a  dozen  or  more  men  outside  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  tent,  all  writing.     Men  constantly 


204  AT  PLATTSBURG 

come  between  me  and  the  Kght  or  step  on  my 
outlying  portions;  there  is  much  cheerful  talking 
and  laughing,  and  aU  about  is  the  usual  bustle  of 
the  camp. 

We  arrived  at  camp  late,  as  battle-scarred  war- 
riors, and  found  the  peaceful  first  battalion  al- 
ready encamped.  At  once  we  pitched  tents  and 
then  hastily  fed;  at  home,  after  hours  of  such 
exertion,  I  should  have  had  a  half  hour's  rest 
before  eating.  But  the  food  was  ready  and  hot; 
if  I  did  not  take  it  at  once  I  could  not  get  it  at 
all;  so  my  stomach  took  the  risk,  and  I  had  my 
meal  first  and  my  rest  afterward.  Then  a  wash 
in  oh!  such  a  soft-bottomed  sluggish  brook, 
where  many  shaved,  and  others  to  my  amaze- 
ment cleaned  their  teeth.  For  that  ceremony  I 
keep  my  canteen  water,  which  is  served  out  to 
us  at  the  head  of  the  company  street  in  proper 
dippers  by  orderHes;  it  is  all  I  shall  have,  I  fore- 
see, both  for  drink  and  for  absolutely  necessary 
washing.  We  have  better  holding-groimd  for 
our  tent-pins  tonight,  but  the  sky  is  cloudless 
and  again  we  have  not  trenched.  There  are  north- 
em  lights — a.  change  in  weather?  The  hay  today 
cost  but  ten  cents,  and  the  adjutant  assures  us  of 
that  tariff  in  future. 

Imagine  the  camp  as  yesterday,  and  me  well. 
Love  from 

Dick. 


Extract  from  the  Letter  of  Erasmus  Corder, 
Assistant-Professor  of  English,  High 
Private  in  Company  H,  ioth  Training 
Regiment,  to  His  Wife.    Same  Date 

.  .  .  Instead  of  yesterday's  steady  marching, 
with  the  first  battalion  driving  the  enemy  away 
for  our  convenience,  duties  were  today  reversed, 
and  our  battalion  took  the  advance-guard  work, 
ending  in  a  very  bloody  skirmish,  in  which,  I 
regret  to  report,  one  dear  to  you  was  slain.  We 
marched — ^and  it  was  marching ! — ^at  a  good  pace 
after  the  first  few  miles,  having  no  one  ahead  to 
hold  us  back  except  when  we  had  to  duck  into  the 
roadside  ditches  to  avoid  machine-gun  fire.  Our 
advance  guard  had  died  gallantly  and  cheered 
(jeered?)  us  as  we  went  forward  to  dislodge  the 
enemy.  The  problem  was  explained  to  us:  the 
enemy  was  800  yards  ahead,  having  command  of 
a  shallow  valley,  which  we  must  cross.  This  we 
did  by  rushes,  squads  or  platoons  at  a  time,  three 
companies'abreast  no  sooner  achieving  a  new  line 
than  they  sent  forward  more  feelers.  In  this 
action  it  was  very  interesting  for  a  time  to  simu- 
late real  firing,  shooting  with  blank  cartridges  at 
an  enemy  behind  a  stone  wall. 

And  yet  shooting  from  behind  hard  heaps  of 
stone,  or  lying  on  rough  groimd,  through  grass  and 
leaves  that  obscured  the  sights,  all  the  time 
troubled  by  a  heavy  pack  that  burdened  the 

205 


2o6  AT  PLATTSBURG 

shoulders,  poked  the  hat  over  the  eyes,  and  ham- 
pered the  free  action  of  the  arms,  began  to  wear 
on  me.  Try  as  I  may,  I  cannot  master  the  Httle 
sidewise  shift  of  the  pack  which  the  captain  showed 
us,  and  which  Godwin  says  makes  shooting  prone 
"just  as  easy!"  Looking  at  the  other  men,  I 
often  saw  them  flop  on  their  faces  to  rest;  they 
were  working  as  hard  as  on  the  range.  The  pre- 
tense of  firing,  when  our  cartridges  were  gone,  took 
away  some  of  the  excitement.  Then  at  about 
the  fifth  dash,  which  the  others  took  with  some 
briskness  but  which  I  had  to  finish  at  a  slow  jog, 
I  began  to  get  pumped.  When  the  first  sergeant 
asked  me  how  I  was  I  told  him  that  I  was  shot 
through  both  Ixmgs.  Nevertheless,  I  finished 
(though  at  a  walk)  the  next  to  last  charge,  but 
our  dash  had  been  so  exposed  that,  by  the  time 
I  had  thrown  myself  panting  on  some  particularly 
jagged  stones,  an  umpire  came  along  and  an- 
nounced that  all  rear-rank  men  were  to  fall  out, 
of  course  as  being  dead.  Godwin  was  disgusted, 
and  evidently  seeing  my  envy  in  my  face,  swapped 
places  with  me.  Never  was  anyone  so  willing  to 
be  killed.  Quite  at  my  leisure  I  watched  the 
spirited  advance  of  the  thin  line  of  o.  d.  men  to 
storm  the  enemy's  position.  And  I  was  perfectly 
willing  not  to  be  killed  twice. 

Our  little  club  of  middle  aged  men  still  holds 
its  impromptu  sessions,  members  comparing  ex- 
periences and  solicitously  inquiring  as  to  each 
other's  condition.     So  far  as  I  can  see  we  are 


AT  PLATTSBURG  207 

keeping  up  pretty  well,  except  for  the  ability  to 
make  such  awful  repeated  dashes  as  today's  work 
required.  And  even  then  a  few  minutes'  rest  sets 
us  on  our  feet  again. 

Pitching  the  tents,  makiug  camp,  etc.,  is  now 
routine  work.  The  encampment  is  as  picturesque 
as  before.  Tomorrow  night  we  also  spend  here; 
whether  or  not  we  shall  mercifully  be  permitted 
to  leave  the  tents  pitched,  the  morning  will  decide. 
But  I  am  well,  and  bHsterless,  and  refreshed,  and 
tomorrow  shall  be  ready  to  die  again. 

Lovingly, 

Erasmus. 


From  Private  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Sciota,  Wednesday  the  2^th. 

Dear  Mother: — 

You  need  not  worry  about  my  sleeping  warm. 
When  I  go  to  bed  I  take  off  my  shoes  and  leggings, 
put  on  an  extra  pair  of  socks,  and  crawl  into  the 
bag  which  each  afternoon  I  make  up  afresh  by 
pinning  the  folded  blankets  together  with  the 
biggest  safety  pins  you  ever  saw,  and  buttoning 
my  poncho  aroimd  them.  Over  me  thus  there  is 
the  poncho,  and  as  many  layers  of  blankets  as  I 
please,  up  to  five.  Besides  I  have  two  sweaters, 
if  I  need  them.    So  I  sleep  snug. 

This  morning  it  is  pleasant  and  windless,  as  I 
wait  for  the  order  to  start. 

An  instance  of  the  change  of  orders  imder  which 
we  labor.  (As  I  recall  the  Civil  War  memoirs 
that  I  have  read,  it  seems  to  me  that  conditions 
are  much  the  same.)  We  were  assembled  in  line 
at  5.25,  reported,  stacked  arms,  and  were  ordered 
(remember  that  we  are  to  camp  on  this  same 
ground  tonight)  "Strike  tents  and  make  packs. 
Make  up  blanket  rolls  and  squad  bags,  and  bring 
them  to  the  head  of  the  street."  Oh,  the  disgust ! 
The  orders  were  proper  for  the  first  battalion, 
which  marches  on  to  Altona  today;  but  for  us 
it  seemed  needless.  But  the  promptest  fell  to 
work,  took  down  their  tents,  and  began  to  make 

208 


AT  PLATTSBURG  209 

up  the  packs.  Then  the  word  came  travelling 
down  the  street,  "Leave  tents  standing!"  Luck- 
ily Bann  and  I  had  not  got  to  the  work  of  strik- 
ing the  tent,  and  so  we  jubilated  while  some 
others  cussed.  But  we  went  on  with  making  up 
the  rolls  and  bags.  Then  the  order  was  trans- 
mitted, "Leave  blankets  and  extra  kits  in  tents !" 
Perhaps  someone  blundered  in  the  first  place,  and 
we  got  the  order  intended  for  the  first  battahon. 
And  I  do  not  complain,  for  today  we  travel  Hght, 
with  many  things  not  in  our  packs. 

The  call  has  come,  "  Squad  leaders  to  the  head 
of  the  street."  That  means  a  talk  preparatory  to 
setting  out.  So  I  have  put  on  my  pack,  so  as  to 
wait  without  worry.  Having  marched  very  dry 
yesterday,  and  a  pebble  which  I  hastily  scooped 
up  proving  large  and  rough,  I  have  provided  my- 
self (per  one  buzzard)  with  a  package  of  chewing 
gum.  Oh  for  the  old-fashioned  spruce,  with  no 
sweetness  or  artificial  flavor ! — ^The  first  battahon, 
having  packed  entirely,  is  assembhng  for  the 
march.  My  map  is  buttoned  in  my  shirt,  for 
consultation  at  halts.  The  day  is  warm,  with 
the  wind  from  the  west;  but  there  are  gathering 
clouds,  and  I  am  going  to  use  the  time  which  is 
left  in  digging  with  my  bayonet  a  ditch  around 
the  tent. 

(In  West  Sciota?  At  any  rate,  an  inhabited 
crossroads.)  I  am  lying  on  my  back  in  the  wet 
grass,  while  the  captain  explains  that  the  sound 
at  a  Httle  distance,  as  of  a  lot  of  carpenters  nail- 


2IO  AT  PLATTSBURG 

ing  at  the  boarding  of  a  new  house,  is  our  patrols 
firing  at  a  party  of  cavahy  that  is  opposing  our 
advance. 

We  left  our  tents  buttoned,  and  started  out  in 
gray  weather.  I  was  glad  that  I  had,  with  bay- 
onet and  fingers,  dug  a  shallow  ditch  along  the 
upper  side  of  our  pup  and  across  the  front,  when 
this  light  rain  began.  It  is  not  bad,  and  so  long 
as  I  have  my  pack  between  me  and  the  ground 
I  cannot  get  chilled.  Again  and  again  I  have 
used  it  so,  and  have  seen  fellows  at  halts  napping 
all  aroimd  me.  Truly  the  pack  is  a  life  saver. — 
"Fall  in!" 

(North  of  Sciota,  on  the  road  to  Mooers,  near 
crossroads  79,  the  weather  now  dry.)  We  are 
resting  after  a  skirmish,  and  as  my  position  is 
somewhat  more  comfortable,  since  I  am  lolling 
in  a  ditch  instead  of  lymg  on  my  back,  perhaps 
these  jottings  will  be  more  legible  than  the  last. 
The  skirmish  went  thus. 

We  left  our  resting-place  at  crossroads  72,  and 
followed  the  popping  of  our  advance  guard,  I 
company,  while  at  the  same  time  we  heard  at  a 
greater  distance  the  heavy  firing  of  the  first 
battalion  as  it  fought  its  way  westward  toward 
Altona,  we  ourselves  going  north.  As  we  ad- 
vanced beyond  a  comer,  suddenly  fire  from  the 
left  broke  out  upon  the  column  behind  us.  At 
once  we  were  halted,  and  Captain  Kirby,  ranging 
down  the  line  of  the  company,  picked  out  our 
squad  and  sent  us  at  the  double  over  the  fence 


AT  PLATTSBURG  2n 

and  into  the  field  north  of  the  road  that  we  had 
passed,  our  enemy  being  in  a  thick  wood  to  the 
south  of  it.  Here  we  streamed  along,  poor  Corder 
as  usual  soon  being  pumped  and  dropping  behind, 
while  eager  David  was  only  kept  from  outdis- 
tancing the  rest  by  a  sharp  word  from  Knudsen. 
We  scrambled  through  a  wire  fence,  then  in  a 
pasture  with  scattered  heavy  cedars  we  assembled 
behind  a  tree  to  survey  the  ground,  all  of  us 
pouring  out  our  advice  upon  poor  Bann — ^to  go 
to  the  road,  to  go  fiurther  west,  to  plunge  into  the 
woods  and  attack  the  enemy  by  ourselves.  This 
last  from  David,  who  is  keen  at  every  fight. 
Someone  urging  to  send  a  message  back  to  the 
captain,  Bann  got  out  the  brand-new  despatch 
book  and  pencil  which  since  the  conference  this 
morning  had  been  sticking  out  of  his  pocket,  but 
put  them  up  again  for  lack  of  something  definite 
to  say.  So  he  took  us  across  the  road  and  into 
the  field  behind  the  enemy's  wood,  where  it  be- 
ing evident  that  the  foe  had  no  reserves,  Bann 
began  once  more  to  write. 

Now  we  heard  Kirby's  voice,  who  having  led 
the  company  along  the  road,  and  finding  himself 
plainly  behind  the  enemy's  fire,  was  putting  the 
men,  in  squad  columns,  into  the  wood  to  search 
them  out.  We  climbed  the  wire  fence  and  fol- 
lowed through  the  densest  undergrowth,  where 
poor  Corder,  stumbling  behind  and  having  to 
protect  his  glasses,  often  found  himself  quite  out 
of  sight  of  the  man  in  front.    But  we  were  too 


212  AT  PLATTSBURG 

late.  We  heard  shouts  ahead,  the  firing  ceased, 
and  when  we  desperately  broke  through  the  last 
of  the  thicket  and  found  ourselves  in  the 
open,  there  stood  a  line  of  men  with  white  bands 
on  their  hats  (the  sign  of  the  opposing  forces) 
quietly  regarding  us.  Rumor  said  that  they  were 
captured,  and  Squad  9,  being  first  on  the  ground, 
was  feeling  proud  of  their  work.  Then  the  rumor 
ran  that  not  only  was  the  enemy  not  captured, 
but  we  were  killed.  Squad  9  was  cursing,  "not 
loud  but  deep,"  when  the  captain  came  along  and 
was  passionately  appealed  to.  "We  got  them," 
he  assured  us.  "They  were  firing  away  from  us 
when  we  broke  through  the  wood.  A  siagle  picket 
on  that  flank,  firing  a  single  shot  on  seeing  us, 
would  have  saved  them.  And  besides,  we  have 
their  horses.  Sergeant  Barker  has  just  come  in 
reporting  that  he  has  the  bunch."  Satisfied,  we 
marched  out  to  our  present  resting-place. 

The  cavalry  has  just  emerged  from  their  un- 
successful ambush,  with  the  two  machine  guns, 
and  have  started  northward  in  a  hurry,  an  um- 
pire warning  them,  "You  have  only  five  minutes 
before  we  start  after  you."  The  men  around  me 
are  laughing  and  talking,  well  content,  and  I 
have  just  seen  the  major  congratulatiQg  the  cap- 
tain on  a  brisk  piece  of  work. 

(In  camp  again,  and  settled  for  the  night  at 
our  old  tents,  the  weather  having  cleared.) 

A  cavalryman  (by  the  way,  there  was  pointed 
out  to  me  today  the  fellow  with  the  broken  jaw, 


AT  PLATTSBURG  213 

jouncing  along  with  the  rest,  and  looking  neither 
thin  nor  pale)  a  cavalryman  has  just  settled  down 
to  discuss  the  skirmish  with  us.  "We  got  some 
beautiful  shots  at  you  fellows.  In  our  first  position 
we  let  the  point  of  I  company  walk  by,  and  then 
fired  into  them  at  about  fifty  yards.  I  company 
drove  us,  and  then  we  settled  in  that  little  wood, 
with  the  machine  gims.  I  company's  flanking 
patrol  came  right  up  to  the  edge  of  the  woods 
without  seeing  us.  We  let  them  go  by  and  then 
fired  into  you.  Didn't  you  duck  into  the  ditches 
quick!"  He  is  talking  now  of  a  cavalryman's 
work.  "Here  you  fellows  are  grumbling  because 
you  have  a  gun  to  clean.  I  wish  I  got  off  as 
easily.  I  have  my  gun  and  my  equipment;  it 
takes  a  lot  of  time,  and  today  I  had  to  clean  and 
water  two  horses,  another  fellow's  and  mine. 
The  other  man  got  hurt,  one  of  the  regulars.  His 
horse  fell  on  him." 

The  major,  at  conference,  told  us  that  he  and 
Captain  Kirby  had  been  expecting  an  attack  at 
that  point,  as  the  lay  of  the  land  was  right  for  it. 
They  were  surprised  when  the  flanking  patrol 
found  nothing. 

Our  next  work  was  quite  different,  and  illus- 
trates the  fact  that  the  man  in  the  ranks  can  only 
tell  what  he  sees,  and  often  cannot  understand 
that.  On  our  fresh  advance  northward  our 
company  was  the  advance  guard,  I  company 
falHng  to  our  rear.  The  first  platoon  marched 
ahead  as  the  "point,"  with  communicating  files. 


214  AT  PLATTSBURG 

and  we  watched  its  operations  for  a  while  as  we 
followed  along. 

The  work  of  the  "point,"  my  dear  mother, 
when  you  are  advancing  to  engage  the  enemy, 
is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  in  warfare.  When 
the  Germans  sent  out  their  advance  guards  as 
they  overran  Belgium,  they  considered  that  the 
men  in  each  point  had  been  given  their  death 
warrants.  The  object  of  the  point,  as  it  proceeds 
along  the  road,  is  to  hunt  for  the  enemy  and  en- 
gage him.  The  men  of  the  detail  march  at  in- 
tervals of  about  twenty-five  yards  on  alternate 
sides  of  the  road,  the  corporal  about  halfway  of 
the  squad,  and  the  rearmost,  or  "get-away  man," 
having  the  task  of  falling  back  as  soon  as  any 
serious  obstacle  is  encountered,  in  order  to  com- 
municate with  the  support.  As  in  enemy's  coun- 
try the  roads  are  likely  to  be  waylaid,  patrols  are 
sent  out  to  investigate  any  flanking  hill,  or  wood, 
or  group  of  buildings,  behind  which  a  party  could 
be  hiding.  You  can  imagine  the  grim  interest  in 
trying  to  walk  into  an  ambuscade.  I  company's 
patrols  having  failed  to  locate  the  enemy  in  his 
last  concealment,  we  were  particularly  anxious  to 
make  no  such  error. 

As  we  marched  up  each  rise  in  ground  I  could 
see  the  point  ahead  of  us,  and  the  patrols  working 
their  way  through  the  coimtry  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  road.  As  the  point  naturally  went 
faster  than  the  patrols  it  would  gradually  leave 
them  behind,  the  corporal  or  sergeant  command- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  215 

ing  would  send  back  for  more  men,  the  message 
would  come  through  the  communicating  files, 
and  men  would  be  sent  ahead  for  the  work.  Pa- 
trols outdistanced,  and  still  finding  nothing,  would 
drop  back  to  the  road  and  rejoin  their  command 
as  soon  as  they  could. 

After  a  while  this  work  of  the  point  had  used 
up  the  first  platoon,  and  began  to  eat  into  ours. 
It  was  then  recalled  and  our  platoon  took  its 
place,  with  Squad  6  as  point,  Squad  7  providing 
the  patrols  and  commimicating  files,  and  our 
squad  as  immediate  reserve.  Word  coming  for 
more  men,  Clay  and  Reardon  were  sent  forward, 
and  I  saw  them  despatched  off  to  the  right.  Clay 
toward  a  near-by  sugar-bush,  a  httle  grove  with 
its  sugar  house  at  its  edge,  and  Reardon  further 
forward,  toward  a  suspicious  hollow  behind  which 
was  a  railroad  embankment  which  might  conceal 
a  regiment.  I  was  plainly  among  the  next  to 
go,  and  waited  impatiently.  Then  we  halted, 
and  remained  so  for  some  time. 

The  men  grumbled.  Why  stop?  Why  wasn't 
the  support  following  more  closely?  Where  was 
the  enemy,  anyway?  Hoping  to  be  right  in  the 
middle  of  the  next  scrap,  we  were  disappointed 
at  any  delay.  Meanwhile  Clay,  having  foimd 
nothing  in  his  sugar-bush,  returned,  and  attention 
was  fixed  on  our  flanking  patrol  to  the  left,  who 
having  discovered  that  we  had  stopped,  likewise 
became  stationary,  and  leaving  un-rummaged 
the  thick  little  growth  of  birch  ahead  of  him,  sat 


2i6  AT  PLATTSBURG 

himself  down  in  the  midst  of  an  apple  orchard, 
and  visibly  regaled  himseK  on  something  red. 

This  was  exasperating,  we  having  already  had 
to  leave  untouched  so  many  trees  laden  with 
fruit.  Roars  from  the  sergeant  failing  to  dislodge 
our  resting  patrol,  a  man  was  starting  out  to  order 
him  on,  when  he  was  observed  to  start,  crouch 
behind  a  tree,  make  ready  to  shoot,  and  then  to 
fall  back  from  cover  to  cover,  continually  present- 
ing his  gun  at  an  unseen  enemy.  He  rejoined  us 
out  of  breath,  and  feverishly  reported  having 
heard  men  in  the  scrub,  and  a  voice  ordering  him 
to  surrender.  The  sergeant  was  hastily  sending 
out  our  squad  to  investigate  the  birches,  when  a 
bunch  of  men  were  seen  to  break  cover  from  them. 
As  they  wore  no  white  hat-bands  we  knew  they 
must  be  our  men;  and  when  they  came  nearer  we 
saw  them  to  be  Squad  9,  which  a  quarter  hour 
before  the  captain  had  despatched  on  special 
flanking  duty,  and  which,  being  full  of  energy, 
had  done  their  work  and  more  too,  coming  back 
after  a  practical  joke  on  our  patrol. 

And  then  we  were  ordered  to  return !  Instead 
of  the  support  marching  to  fill  the  gap  between  us, 
we  were  to  go  back  to  it.  Bannister  objected  that 
a  man  was  missing,  Reardon  through  excess  of 
zeal  having  vanished  in  the  distance  along  the 
railroad.  "Send  out  a  man  after  him,"  said  the 
sergeant.  All  the  squad  offered  to  go;  Corder 
was  a  little  the  slowest,  being  leg-weary,  but  who 
do  you  think  was  first?    David !    So  he  was  des- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  217 

patched,  and  went  very  eagerly,  while  we  turned 
our  backs  and  went  south. 

When  the  company  had  joined  the  battalion 
there  was  much  rearranging  of  disjointed  com- 
mands, squads  continually  coming  in  from  detail 
duty,  so  that  it  was  plain  that  between  us  we 
had  pretty  well  investigated  the  whole  landscape. 
David  and  Reardon  were  missing  still,  even  after 
we  had  rested  for  some  time.  We  started  south 
again,  and  it  was  not  till  after  another  march 
that  the  lost  men  rejoined  us,  David  triumphant, 
but  Reardon  very  hot  and  weary.  Said  the  poor 
fellow,  "I  have  thought  before  now  that  I  was 
pretty  tired,  but  this  beats  everything." 

There  was  no  rest  for  him,  however.  We 
turned  north  again,  having  J  company  in  front, 
and  after  a  mile  heard  the  fanuliar  firing.  The 
captain  sent  us  headlong  into  the  field  on  the 
right,  where  soon  we  were  part  of  a  skirmish  line, 
and  for  a  minute  were  blazing  away  at  a  fence 
in  front  of  us,  behind  which  I  glimpsed  a  single 
white  hat-band.  But  Kirby  was  not  to  be  caught 
as  the  cavahy  had  allowed  themselves  to  be. 
Squad  8  was  sent  off  at  the  double  to  the  end  of 
the  line,  and  there  at  wide  intervals  we  made  a 
flank  guard  extending  to  the  rear,  where  poor 
Reardon  was  allowed  to  rest  at  last,  as  we  waited 
hidden  behind  what  cover  we  could  find,  gazing 
across  some  pasture  land  with  scattered  bushes 
at  a  belt  of  pine  in  front. 

As  we  waited  we  heard  the  voice  of  an  umpire; 


2i8  AT  PLATTSBURG 

I  snatched  a  glimpse  of  him  as  he  stood  behind 
us  watching.  "Any  enemy  you  see  represents 
twenty-five  men."  A  cool  statement  that  made 
our  task  perplexing,  for  while  with  one  bullet  I 
might  slay  so  many  men,  conversely  if  one  shot 
at  us  first  he  could  wipe  out  the  squad.  But 
though  we  lay  very  low  and  watched  very  keenly, 
while  the  battaHon  banged  away  at  our  left,  no 
one  appeared  in  front  of  us.  To  my  left  was 
Reardon,  and  to  my  right  David,  very  intent 
on  spotting  the  first  foe.  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
see  how  seriously  he  takes  the  work.  Pickle, 
beyond  him,  was  constantly  chewing  gum  and 
whispering  slang,  the  sort  of  city  clerk  one  reads 
about  in  Civil  War  memoirs,  tough  physically 
and  mentally. 

(I  have  thrown  my  chewing  gum  away.  Too 
much  swallowing  of  saliva  makes  you  (me !)  hun- 
gry.   Me  for  a  pebble  from  the  next  brook !) 

We  were  at  last  called  back  by  a  whistle,  and 
the  distant  cry,  "Assemble  on  the  left!"  Once 
more  we  marched  south,  and  presently  were 
resting  again  at  West  Sciota.  As  we  lolled  there, 
buying  apples  from  native  buzzards,  who  take 
to  the  extortion  of  the  professional  without  any 
coaching,  some  trucks  came  to  the  cross-roads, 
and  men  began  to  climb  into  them.  Watching 
one  group,  I  was  surprised  to  recognize  a  man  of 
A  company,  at  the  same  time  that  Corder  ex- 
claimed, "Those  men  are  from  the  first  bat- 
talion ! "  whose  firing,  you  remember,  we  had  al- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  219 

ready  heard  at  least  a  couple  of  miles  away.  We 
did  not  get  the  explanation  until  battalion  con- 
ference, some  hours  later.  It  seems  that  the  um- 
pires, during  our  northward  march,  had  reinforced 
the  cavalry  with  an  imaginary  battalion  of  in- 
fantry, before  which  we  had  been  obliged  to  re- 
treat. By  motorcycle  messenger  a  call  for  help 
was  sent  to  the  first  battalion  commander,  who 
was  now  four  miles  away  on  the  road  to  Altona. 
Having  sixteen  empty  motor-trucks,  in  four  min- 
utes he  had  filled  them  with  two  companies,  and 
seventeen  minutes  later  they  were  behind  our 
lines,  forming  for  our  support.  As  we  saw  or 
guessed  none  of  this,  it  only  illustrates  the  remark 
with  which  I  began,  that  the  private  soldier  knows 
but  a  little  of  what  is  going  on. 

I  would  not  write  this  to  you  in  such  detail, 
except  that  I  think  it  will  interest  you  to  see  that 
the  hike  is  more  than  a  mere  march,  and  that  it 
is  making  every  one  of  us  advance  in  his  depart- 
ment of  the  war  game.  We  squads,  I  hope,  are 
learning  to  do  as  we  are  told,  though  you  see  how 
blind  everything  is  to  us.  The  intricate  prob- 
lems of  the  officers  come  out  in  conference.  There 
the  men  sit  on  the  ground  in  a  great  three-quarter- 
circle,  grouping  themselves  whenever  possible 
around  the  men  with  maps.  The  major  likewise 
has  hisn,  and  the  officers  theirn.  The  major  makes 
a  general  statement  of  the  work  of  the  day,  and 
the  captains  then  report  on  their  particular  op- 
erations.   When  you  see  what  exact  notes  they 


220  AT  PLATTSBURG 

have  taken  of  every  operation:  the  precise  moment 
of  sending  out  parties  and  of  receiving  reports, 
the  minuteness  with  which  they  locate  every 
action,  the  science  with  which  they  carry  out  the 
work  that  falls  to  them,  and  the  team-play  that 
animates  them,  you  see  that  this  is  no  old-style 
cut-and-dried  "sham  battle,"  but  an  actual  study, 
of  course  on  a  small  scale,  of  fighting  seriously 
carried  out  by  well-trained  officers.  It  has  deeply 
impressed  me  with  the  long  and  hard  work  neces- 
sary to  make  an  officer;  and  then,  turning  to 
the  man's  side  of  it,  it  becomes  plainer  and 
plainer  that  it  takes  time,  much  time,  to  train 
a  private  or  a  corporal  into  a  reliable  man  on 
patrol. 

One  hard  thing  for  us  amateurs  to  learn  is  the 
proper  writing  of  messages  containing  military  in- 
formation. It  is  hard  to  decide  what  is  impor- 
tant enough  to  send,  and  then  how  to  word  the 
despatch.  Tradition  from  an  earlier  camp  has 
handed  down  this  model:  "The  enemy  are  in 
sight  and  are  about  to  do  something."  Where, 
when,  how  many,  some  notion,  however  vague,  of 
the  enemy's  disposition — ^all  forgotten  between  ex- 
citement and  too  great  responsibility, 

The  march  home  was  the  hardest  part  of  the 
day.  The  interest  of  the  skirmish  kept  us  go- 
ing; but  the  three  miles  back  to  camp  at  a  quick 
pace  took  it  out  of  us  all.  I  had  not  known  I  was 
so  tired;  the  strain  wore  hard  on  me;  it  seemed 
ages  before  we  sighted  camp,  and  then  ages  and 


AT  PLATTSBURG  221 

ages  before  we  reached  it.  But  this  experience 
was  the  same  as  on  Monday,  for  though  the  very 
vigorous  ones  were  able  to  whistle  and  sing,  to 
the  help  of  us  all,  again  I  began  to  hear  grumbling 
all  about  me.  We  reached  camp  at  last,  and  poor 
Reardon  when  we  broke  ranks  dropped  on  the 
groimd  at  his  tent  door,  without  the  energy  to 
unbutton  the  flaps,  and  in  a  minute  was  fast 
asleep  there. 

We  had  our  dinner,  which  I  put  in  my  meat- 
can  under  the  hay  to  keep  hot  while  I  rested, 
then  ate  and  felt  refreshed.  Then  the  afternoon 
we  had  to  ourselves,  if  you  can  so  consider  it 
when  we  have  to  clean  our  guns,  clean  ourselves, 
come  to  conference,  and  come  to  Retreat.  For 
my  own  part,  having  yesterday  sampled  the 
slimy  brook  and  having  no  taste  for  it  again,  I 
washed  my  face  and  hands  (after  cleaning  my 
gim)  in  a  little  water  from  the  canteen.  Thus  I 
am  staying  dirty.  It  is  no  more  than  I  have  done 
before,  in  the  deep  woods. 

"That  was  some  hike  we  had  this  morning," 
calls  Bannister  to  a  friend  across  the  street. 
Such  is  the  general  opinion,  especially  Reardon' s, 
who  slept  till  he  had  to  be  roused  for  conference. 
And  I  want  especially  to  chronicle  that  it  was 
David  who,  declaring  that  Reardon  would  get 
rheumatism  from  the  bare  ground,  roused  him 
enough  to  get  him  onto  his  blankets  in  the  tent; 
it  was  David  who  sat  by  him  and  prevented  any- 
one from  waking  him;  and  it  was  David  who  after 


222  AT  PLATTSBURG 

cleaning  his  own  gun,  which  work  the  lad  does 
not  enjoy,  cleaned  Reardon's. 

The  story  goes  now  that  the  stolen  clip  of  ball 
cartridges  has  been  found  and  confiscated.  Its 
location  is  ascribed  to  every  company  in  the  regi- 
ment, including  ours.  Our  blanks  we  use  very 
freely,  being  suppHed  every  morning  with  any 
number  from  fifty  up.  And  wherever  we  shoot 
them  in  any  quantity,  buzzards  still  flock  together 
to  rummage  in  the  underbrush. 

You  ask  the  meaning  of  Retreat.  It  is  the  last 
ceremony  of  the  military  day,  when  the  colors 
are  furled.  The  companies  are  called  together, 
each  at  the  end  of  its  street,  so  that  they  are  in 
order  one  behind  the  other.  Sometimes  we  are 
drilled  in  the  manual,  sometimes  we  have  rifle 
inspection;  but  as  soon  as  the  bugle  sounds  the 
warning  call  we  come  to  parade  rest.  Then  the 
band  plays  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  after  which 
we  stand  at  attention  while  the  bugler  plays  the 
beautiful  "To  the  Colors."  The  flag  is  furled,  and 
everyone  not  in  line,  cooks,  orderhes,  all  except 
the  buzzards,  likewise  stand  at  attention  during 
the  call,  and  at  the  end  salute.  Then  promptly 
we  are  dismissed  and  allowed  to  hope  for  supper. 

Our  diet  is  the  same  monotony  of  wholesome, 
plentiful  food.  I  am  flourishing  on  it;  Corder  is 
proud  of  requiring  nothing  else.  On  the  other 
hand  some  complain,  and  Pickle,  having  a  sweet 
tooth,  at  the  end  of  a  meal  will  often  go  out  and 
feed  himself  with  boughten  pies  and  doughnuts. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  223 

For  you  must  understand  that  not  only  do  the 
buzzards  follow  us  from  camp  to  camp,  but  every 
farmer's  wife  along  the  line  of  march  or  near  our 
camp  bakes  a  batch  of  her  favorites  and  puts  out 
a  sign.  Those  along  the  road  must  be  disap- 
pointed; none  of  us  ever  fall  out.  But  they  make 
a  good  sale  outside  the  camp.  David,  who  has 
become  very  strict  with  himself,  is  trying  to  save 
Pickle  from  his  indulgences,  but  so  far  without 
success  except  that  Pickle  has  become  very  sly 
about  slipping  away. 

A  long  letter,  and  I  am  cramped  and  stiff  from 
sitting  on  the  ground.  When  shall  I  sit  in  a  chair 
again? 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

Thursday  morning  at  West  Sciota, 
waiting  to  start. 

Dear  Mother: — 

The  camp  has  been  policed  down  to  the  last 
cigarette  stub  and  gun  patch,  or  anything  else 
that  the  captain's  keen  eye  might  light  on.  The 
call  has  gone  out,  "Platoon  leaders  to  the  head  of 
the  street,"  and  the  day's  work  is  to  be  laid  out 
for  them.  We  privates  have  been  studying  our 
maps.  For  we  expect  to  march  to  Altona,  where 
last  night  the  first  battahon  camped,  and  we 
suspect  that  they  will  march  out  and  oppose  us. 
It  is  only  seven  miles  by  road,  but  no  one  knows 
how  long  if  skirmishing  is  added. 

After  mailing  my  letter  last  night  I  sat  among 
others  at  the  captain's  fire,  listening  to  his  ready 
answers  to  the  questions  which  we  fired  at  him. 
We  went  over  points  of  strategy,  and  discussed 
the  day's  work.  It  has  become  plain  to  me  that 
there  is  a  great  advantage  in  so  small  a  camp  as 
ours,  a  regiment  of  but  six  companies.  We  can 
be  in  or  pretty  close  to  every  scrap  that  happens, 
and  all  the  real  military  problems  are  fairly  plain 
to  us.  Besides,  this  hike  is  to  be  the  longest  yet. 
When  further  you  consider  that  a  month  of  Platts- 
burg  has  as  many  hours  of  service  as  a  miHtiaman 
gets  in  two  years  and  a  haK  at  home,  that  our 
continuous  service  is  naturally  much  more  val- 

234 


AT  PLATTSBURG  225 

uable  than  the  militiaman's  weekly  drill  in  his 
armory,  and  finally  that  we  are  under  West 
Pointers  who  each  day  explain  and  discuss  the 
problem,  you  can  see  that  a  man  in  the  Tenth 
Regiment  has  a  chance  to  learn  a  good  deal. 

Little  absurdities  are  taking  place  around  me. 
Says  Corder,  struggling  with  his  pack,  "Bann, 
will  you  help  me  into  my  corset."  Pickle  says  to 
Reardon  (out  of  David's  hearing)  "  Ten  cents  for 
a  bum  piece  of  pie  that  you  have  to  eat  with  your 
hands !  That  gets  my  goat."  And  just  now  has 
come  a  hoot  from  every  part  of  the  camp  when 
from  I  company,  in  line  to  start  and  loading  guns 
for  a  skirmish,  soimded  the  pop  of  an  accidental 
discharge.  But  the  men  of  I  company  look  sour 
and  glum. 

Nevertheless  I  will  admit  that  I  discovered 
yesterday  from  personal  experience,  but  luckily 
in  the  rattle  and  banging  of  a  fight,  how  the  gun 
is  accidentally  discharged.  You  draw  back  the 
bolt  and  push  it  forward  again,  thus  putting  a 
cartridge  in  the  barrel.  Then  you  turn  the  bolt 
down.  Now  if  in  so  doing  your  third  or  fourth 
finger  strays  inside  the  trigger  guard  and  presses 
the  trigger  (and  it  is  very  easily  done)  then — ! 
But  no  one  could  hear  my  mistake  in  all  the 
firing. 

(Resting  after  battle,  near  Altona.) 
We  marched  for  some  miles  unmolested  along 
our  westward  road,  and  the  amateur  strategists 


226  AT  PLATTSBURG 

among  us  scanned  each  rise  of  ground  ahead,  pre- 
dicting fights.  But  when  the  row  finally  began 
we  were  too  far  in  the  rear  to  see  just  what  kind 
of  position  the  enemy  had  decided  to  hold.  As 
often  happens,  we  were  ordered  into  the  ditch  to 
wait,  while  the  officers  consulted  briefly,  and  all 
the  time  the  rattle  of  the  guns  kept  up.  Half 
the  cavalry,  by  the  way,  were  with  us,  and  we 
saw  them  sent  off  by  a  woodroad  to  the  left, 
supposedly  to  flank  the  enemy.  Then  for  our 
platoon  occurred  one  of  our  occasional  bawlings 
out.  As  we  waited,  having  loaded,  we  saw  the 
4th,  3d,  and  I  St  platoons  ordered  over  the  fence 
into  the  field  on  our  right.  Being  used  to  seeing 
the  company  spHt  into  its  detachments  for  differ- 
ent purposes,  and  hearing  no  orders,  we  remained 
placidly  in  the  ditch — for  we  are  now  old  soldiers, 
and  are  learning  not  to  hunt  trouble.  But  the 
lieutenant  came  running,  and  with  a  few  sharp 
words  deftly  removed  the  scalp  of  our  leader,  and 
retired  with  it  at  his  belt.  So  over  we  scrab- 
bled, and  took  our  place  in  the  column.  Then 
we  wandered  miles  through  pastures,  woods,  and 
bogs,  at  first  in  column  of  squads,  which  means 
four  men  abreast,  and  then,  as  the  going  became 
difficult,  in  squad  columns,  which  means  eight 
men  following  each  other  in  single  file.  Note 
this  difference — I  wish  we  had !  At  one  time,  for 
nearly  a  mile,  the  whole  company  was  in  Indian 
file,  winding  through  the  underbrush. 
And  as  we  went  thus  there  came  a  curious  little 


AT  PLATTSBURG  227 

test  of  character  and  discipline.  For  to  us  as  we 
halted  at  one  charming  bit  of  stony  hillside,  cedar 
grown,  came  one  of  the  amazing  persistent  buz- 
zards carrying  his  whole  stock  in  trade,  a  box  of 
chocolate  bars.  We  were  hungry,  and  some  men 
bought;  even  David  began  fumbling  in  his  pocket 
as  the  man  came  near.  But  he  looked  at  Kjiud- 
sen,  and  the  Swede  frowned,  so  when  the  fellow 
offered  his  wares  David  waved  him  away.  Hav- 
ing shown  weakness,  he  did  not  attempt  to  influ- 
ence Pickle;  but  that  worthy,  with  a  sigh,  put  up 
his  money.  "War  is  hell,"  said  he,  and  cursed  the 
buzzard.  None  in  our  squad  bought;  in  fact, 
though  the  captain  was  not  in  sight,  I  think  the 
buzzard  was  disappointed  in  F  company. 

Firing  was  all  the  time  very  noisy  to  our  left, 
and  as  we  moved  on  it  was  plain  that  we  were 
skirting  the  centre  of  the  scrimmage  in  an  at- 
tempt to  take  the  enemy  in  flank.  Now  our 
squad  columns  were  sent  forward  parallel,  eight 
yards  apart,  ready  at  command  to  spring  out  in 
one  long  line,  the  men  side  by  side.  Through  a 
cedar  swamp  we  now  made  our  way  among  huge 
old  trees,  the  firing  very  hot  and  close  in  front, 
until  we  were  halted  at  the  edge  of  the  thicket, 
with  an  open  space  in  front  across  which  was  a 
snake  fence  some  thirty  yards  away.  As  we  waited 
the  order  to  advance,  we  being  on  the  extreme 
right,  a  railroad  embankment  just  beyond  us, 
we  saw  a  platoon  rush  forward  from  the  left, 
cross  the  open  diagonally,  and  line  the  fence  in 


228  AT  PLATTSBURG 

front  of  us.  With  objurgations  the  captain  and 
lieutenant  coaxed  them  again  to  the  left.  Other 
platoons,  and  perhaps  single  squads,  rushed  from 
cover  and  occupied  the  fence,  the  whole  line  be- 
ginning to  fire. 

We  felt  sure  that  it  was  our  turn  next,  and  were 
saying  so,  when  apparently  the  order  came.  The 
platoon  leader  sprang  out  in  front,  I  made  up  my 
mind  where  I  was  to  go,  we  all  surged  forward, 
crossed  the  open  space,  and  I  presently  found 
myself  in  the  line,  firing  across  the  fence  at  a 
distant  wall,  the  range  of  which  I  calculated  to  be 
but  a  hundred  yards,  and  therefore  used  "battle 
sight,"  firing  low.  But  here  came  the  lieutenant 
again,  scalped  our  leader  a  second  time,  and  or- 
dered us  back.  So  I  trailed  back  across  the  open 
ground  and  meekly  took  my  place  with  the  others 
again  in  squad  column.  We  asked  each  other, 
"Weren't  we  ordered  forward?"  Some  declared 
that  the  platoon  leader  had  ordered  the  advance, 
others  that  the  lieutenant  had  sent  us  out.  I 
knew  I  had  heard  his  voice,  but  really  I  had  merely 
followed  on  like  a  sheep.  That  was  proper.  But 
at  any  rate  here  was  a  time  when  the  platoon- 
leader  had  made  a  mistake  in  keeping  us  with  the 
rest  of  the  company. 

While  the  platoon,  thirty-four  men  of  us,  was 
huddled  in  its  special  bunch  of  trees,  all  talking 
and  explaining,  along  in  haste  came  the  major, 
dismounted,  demanding  if  we  were  in  column  of 
squads.    With  one  voice  we  maintained  that  we 


AT  PLATTSBURG  229 

were,  but  he  or  his  aide  knew  better,  and  by  the 
help  of  our  two  sergeants  bringing  the  corporals 
to  their  senses  and  silencing  the  men,  we  were 
finally  got  out  of  our  squad  columns,  in  which 
formation  we  had  been  .so  long  that  we  had  for- 
gotten that  there  was  any  other.  In  column  of 
squads  we  were  swung  to  the  right,  put  in  skir- 
mish line,  and  halted  below  the  railway  embank- 
ment, where  the  major,  with  great  patience  and 
the  most  painstaking  EngHsh,  explained  to  our 
limited  intelligences  the  exact  manoeuvre  that  he 
contemplated.  Then  at  the  word  we  rushed  the 
embankment,  plimged  into  a  ditch,  swung  to  the 
left,  some  of  us  across  a  wire  fence,  and  prepared 
to  advance  and  annihilate  a  bunch  of  the  enemy 
that  we  saw  before  us.  But  they  sending  out  a 
messenger,  explaiued  that  they  were  dead,  which 
saved  us  the  trouble,  not  really  to  oiu:  pleasure, 
for  having  made  fools  of  ourselves  we  were  anxious 
to  take  it  out  on  somebody.  And  then  the  bugle 
blew  Recall. 

Green  troops  in  battle  would  cause  just  such 
confusion  and  delay.  It  was  very  evident  that 
we  had  spoiled  some  plan.  The  need  of  a  soldier's 
training  would  be  plain  to  anyone  that  heard  the 
babble  of  our  voices  in  that  corner,  conjecturing, 
advising,  urging  this  and  that  We  are  still  very 
far  from  the  state  in  which  we  could  be  trusted 
to  go  into  battle  and  obey  every  order  just  as  it 
came.    The  reasons  for  this  I  figure  out  to  be  two. 

In  the  first  place  I  have  learned  that  the  so- 


230  AT  PLATTSBURG 

called  intelligent  volunteer,  while  able  with  sur- 
prising quickness  to  master  the  manual  and  the 
drill,  with  the  rudiments  of  skirmish  work,  and 
all  because  of  his  trained  mind,  nevertheless  does 
not  readily  give  up  his  independence  of  thought 
except  in  the  presence  of  men  whom  he  recognizes 
as  his  unquestionable  professional  superiors. 
Hence,  when  deprived  of  such  guidance,  each 
man  has  his  own  theory  and  his  own  advice,  which 
he  voices  without  modesty. 

Secondly,  while  in  the  regular  army  such  situ- 
ations are  readily  controlled  by  the —  (To  be 
continued.    We  are  going  to  move  on.) 

(In  camp  at  Altona^  after  swim  and  retreat  and  supper ^ 
writing  while  crouched  in  the  pup  tent  for  shelter  from 
a  shower  that  has  just  spoiled  the  afternoon^  s  conference. 
Bann  is  luckily  absent;  I  don't  know  what  two  could 
do  in  this  confined  space,  except  when  asleep.) 

by  the  non-commissioned  officers,  it  was  very 
evident  today  that  ours  had  not  sufficient  control 
over  us  because  they  had  not  sufficient  control 
over  themselves.  They  were  new  to  their  re- 
sponsibility, and  did  not  imderstand  how  to 
handle  the  particular  problem.  And  if  we  had 
needed  another  example  of  what  was  lacking,  it 
was  at  hand  in  a  few  minutes  when  on  our  way 
to  camp,  and  seeing  the  tents  in  plain  view  across 
a  stream,  the  captain  decided  to  save  us  a  half- 
hour  by  fording.  So  he  led  the  way  down  into  the 
water,  the  lieutenant  at  his  side  discussing,  tramped 
across  the  shallow  river,  and  marched  on,  whether 


AT  PLATTSBURG  231 

forgetting  us  or  testing  us  I  do  not  know.  The 
first  squad  or  two  followed  gamely,  the  next 
faltered,  and  all  the  rest  spread  out  in  confusion 
and  tried  to  cross  dry-shod.  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  Squad  8  hung  together,  hopped  over  quickly, 
formed  and  went  on.  After  a  hundred  yards  we 
came  up  with  the  captain,  who  was  just  sending 
back  a  sergeant  with  the  message,  "Help  all  the 
girls  across."  When  once  we  were  assembled  he 
gave  us  his  solemn  promise  never  to  try  to  save  us 
work  again. 

What  would  prevent  such  blunders  in  future? 
I  will  admit  that  in  each  such  case  non-coms  from 
the  regular  army  would  have  steadied  us  and 
kept  us  right.  Yet  I  am  convinced  that  what  will 
best  control  the  Plattsburg  rookie  is  the  Platts- 
burg  non-com.  All  we  need  is  to  develop  a  body 
of  them.  The  regular  may  serve  at  a  pinch,  but 
in  the  cases  where  moral  control  is  more  needed 
than  a  little  knowledge  or  habitual  steadiness,  the 
appeal  comes  strongest  from  a  man  of  oiu:  own 
kind. 

I  suppose  that  only  the  shower  saved  us  from 
an  awful  roasting  at  the  conference. 

The  camp  is  rather  picturesquely  situated  in  a 
broad  field  that  stretches  down  to  swamps  and 
woods,  the  cavalry  at  a  sHght  distance  across  a 
little  swale.  Our  squad  was  on  poHce  duty  for  a 
while,  and  I  was  orderly  for  an  hour.  The  lady 
buzzards  of  the  town  have  spread  a  chicken  din- 
ner, at  a  dollar  a  head,  in  the  town  hall,  and 


232  AT  PLATTSBURG 

many  of  our  fellows  have  slipped  away  to  it.  Yet 
at  dinner-time  I  saw  poor  Pickle  sitting  by  the 
water-barrel,  a  plate  of  beans  in  his  lap.  I  asked 
innocently,  "  Why  aren't  you  at  the  chicken  din- 
ner ?  "  "  Don't  ask  foolish  questions,"  he  snapped. 
"  Can't  you  see  I'm  tied  here  to  serve  out  water  ?' ' 

I  went  for  my  bath  down  to  our  little  river, 
which  bears  the  imposing  name  of  the  Great 
Chazy;  it  wanders  idle  from  pool  to  pool  along  its 
half  dry  bed.  In  one  of  the  natural  bath-tubs  I 
had  a  fine  wash,  finding  a  pool  up  to  my  knees, 
clear  cold  water  where  minnows  swam  trustingly 
about,  and  where  crawfish,  the  first  I  have  ever 
seen,  came  like  little  pink  lobsters  to  investigate 
my  toes.  After  the  stagnant  brooks  at  our  last 
two  camps,  it  was  deHghtful  to  find  this  clear 
water  and  actually  get  under  it. 

I  was  so  trustful  of  the  weather  that  I  washed 
a  pair  of  socks,  but  I  had  not  got  into  my  clothes 
before  a  shower  started.  I  took  refuge,  with 
another  man,  in  a  cavalry  officer's  tent.  We  had 
a  pleasant  Httle  chat  with  him;  he  did  not  resent 
the  intrusion  of  a  couple  of  rookies,  and  we  talked 
of  camp  matters.  Intermittently  it  has  been 
raining  ever  since. 

Written  by  the  light  of  a  great  bonfire  at  the  Y.  M.C.  A.  tent. 

Men  are  trying  to  dry  themselves  on  one  side 

while  they  get  wet  on  the  other.    Word  has  come 

which  puts  the  company  in  mourning — ^Loretta  is 

detained  by  business,  and  will  not  rejoin  us. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  233 

David  says  in  my  ear,  "Damn  him,  I  meant  to 
get  even  with  him!"  This  for  Reardon's  sake, 
who  laughs  at  David^s  energy,  yet  I  think  is 
rather  touched  by  it.  We  have  had  our  usual 
talk  with  the  captain  at  the  company  fire,  and 
rather  gently  he  has  pointed  out  to  us  our  short- 
comings, especially  our  platoon's  in  giving  the 
major  such  trouble. 

But  some  men  of  our  platoon  came  to  him  with 
a  grievance.  In  getting  us  into  our  column  of 
squads  someone  swore  at  the  men,  and  they  at- 
tributed the  profanity  to  the  major's  aide,  a 
volunteer  like  ourselves.  This  roused  the  cap- 
tain. "No  one  shall  swear  at  my  men!"  he  de- 
clared, his  gentleness  all  gone.  "I  will  talk  with 
that  aide."  That  obHged  me  to  speak.  "Cap- 
tain," said  I,  "I'm  sorry  to  disagree  with  the 
others,  but  as  I  happened  to  have  admired  the 
coolness  of  the  aide,  it  doesn't  seem  to  me  that  he 
was  in  a  state  of  mind  to  swear."  One  of  our 
sergeants  spoke  up.  "I  might  have  done  it,  sir. 
I  was  a  little  excited."  The  man  has  sworn  at  us 
before,  and  Knudsen  has  resented  it.  The  cap- 
tain was  moUified  by  the  admission,  but  he  read 
the  man  a  little  lecture.  "Never  swear  at  your 
men,  sir.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  it  does  no 
good,  it's  most  unsoldierlike.  I  never  swore  at 
an  enlisted  man  but  once,  when  I  was  a  very 
young  officer,  and  I  never  will  again." 

I  must  stop  because  of  the  damp  and  the  dis- 
comfort, writing  in  this  flickering  Hght,  my  legs. 


234  AT  PLATTSBURG  ; 

as  usual,  cramped.  I  despair  of  ever  conveying 
a  proper  idea  of  this  rainy  evening,  the  indiffer- 
ence of  the  hardy  ones,  the  dejection  of  the  sen- 
sitive, crowding  together  wherever  there  is  cover, 
trying  to  keep  dry  at  fires,  or  in  final  surrender 
crawling  into  their  beds,  to  wait  the  hours  through. 
It  is  not  raining  at  this  moment,  but  I  am  curious 
to  know  what  the  night  will  bring.  The  tent  is 
pretty  well  ditched,  but  the  pin  at  my  shoulder  is 
very  loose  in  this  sandy  soil,  and  if  it  showers — ! 
Good  night. 

Dick. 
P.  S.  Overheard  in  I  company  street,  loud 
language.  One  disputant:  "I  keep  my  feet  as 
clean  as  yours ! "  The  other.  "You  do?  I  have 
washed  mine  twice  since  the  beginning  of  the 
hike."  The  first:  "So  have  I,  Monday  and  yes- 
terday. You  take  care  of  your  person  and  I'll 
look  after  mine." 


Private  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

AUona  Camp,  Friday,  Sep.  2g. 
Waiting  for  the  start. 

Dear  Mother: — 

The  night,  in  spite  of  its  possibilities,  was  not 
bad.  I  went  to  bed  in  the  rain,  Bann  already 
snoozing  by  my  side,  and  was  put  to  sleep  by  the 
sounds  of  men's  voices  murmuring.  Roused  by  a 
smart  shower,  I  heard  Taps  blown,  and  the  top 
sergeant  going  up  and  down  the  street.  "  Cut  out 
that  talking,  men !"  Waking  in  the  night  I  found 
the  sky  clear,  the  wind  blowing,  and  two  pins 
out  at  my  side,  with  the  tent  flapping.  I  put  the 
pins  in,  but  when  next  I  was  waked  by  the  rain 
in  my  face  the  side  of  the  tent  was  flapping 
heavily,  and  nothing  but  the  fact  that  instead  of 
a  rifle  for  the  tent  pole  we  used  a  stake,  driven 
about  six  inches  into  the  ground,  had  saved  us 
from  a  collapse.  I  held  down  the  comer  through 
the  shower,  then  opening  my  meat-can,  used  its 
long  handle  for  a  tent-peg.  If  our  little  pins 
were  a  couple  of  inches  longer  this  nuisance  could 
be  prevented.  The  new  peg  held  till  morning, 
the  clouds  then  gradually  breaking  for  a  glorious 
sunrise. 

On  a  hillside,  near  Ellenburg  Depot. 
We  rolled  our  moist  blankets,  made  up  our 
damp  packs,  ate  our  hasty  breakfasts,  and  with 

235 


236  AT  PLATTSBURG 

I  company  were  hustled  into  motor  trucks,  two 
squads  to  a  truck.  For  forty-five  minutes  we 
jolted  and  squashed  over  bad  roads,  and  finally 
bowled  along  over  macadam.  After  eight  or  ten 
miles  we  were  turned  out,  and  marched  in  the 
cloudy,  windy  morning  three  miles  to  Ellenburg 
Depot.  Here  we  left  a  man  on  each  bridge,  to 
notify  pursuers  that  it  was  destroyed,  and  turned 
into  the  fields,  at  last  cHmbing  a  ridge  from  which, 
to  the  left,  we  saw  at  a  distance  a  high  hill,  its 
wooded  sides  beginning  to  show  the  mottled  reds 
of  autumn,  while  just  below  our  steep  slope  lay 
a  wide  flat  bottom,  perfect  green,  with  a  brook 
wandering  through  it.  Here  we  rested,  delighting 
in  the  view  but  shivering  in  the  wind,  while  the 
company  officers  and  the  major  looked  over  the 
ground.  Then  the  orders  were,  "Off  with  the 
equipment,  get  out  your  tools,  and  dig  a  trench." 
The  front  rank  is  working  Hke  beavers  now,  and 
as  our  turn  is  nearly  here,  I  must  stop  this  scrib- 
bling. 

In  camp  near  Ellenburg  Depot,  Friday  afternoon. 
Again  I  sit  in  the  tent  while  outside  it  rains. 
We  have  as  yet  been  able  to  get  no  straw,  for 
though  I  have  twice  hurried  at  the  first  ghmpse  of 
a  wagon,  the  fellows  nearer  got  it  aU.  The  ground 
is  wet  from  this  morning's  rain,  my  pen  has 
splashed  everything  with  ink,  and  I  am  afraid 
that  this  rain  is  no  mere  shower.  But  thank 
Heaven !  the  soil  is  better  for  the  pins  to  hold  in, 


AT  PLATTSBURG  237 

the  tents  have  all  been  faced  away  from  the  wind, 
we  have  had  a  most  interesting  morning,  and  I 
have  a  full  stomach.    To  resume  my  story: 

Considerably  below  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and 
perhaps  seventy  feet  uphill  from  a  railway  cut- 
ting, a  line  was  marked,  and  the  men  fell  to  at  the 
digging  with  enthusiasm.  The  ground  was  sandy, 
and  we  quickly  threw  out  the  soil,  and  heaved 
out  the  occasional  big  rocks.  "We"  scarcely  in- 
cludes poor  Corder,  who  complained  bitterly 
that  his  appearance  of  age  made  the  fellows  keep 
the  tools  from  him;  but  when  we  were  ordered 
to  bring  stones  and  turf,  he  joyfully  carried  bur- 
dens. The  trench  was  dug  about  four  feet  deep, 
with  an  eighteen  inch  parapet  outside.  Inside 
this  was  a  shelf  for  an  elbow  rest;  the  parapet  was 
lined  (revetted,  the  captain  said)  with  flat  stones, 
and  finally  the  whole  outside  was  turfed,  so  that 
the  raw  earth  did  not  show.  The  turf  was  from 
ground  opened  in  a  long  line  higher  up  the  hill, 
and  left  open  to  look  like  a  trench  and  draw  the 
enemy^s  fire.  Our  trench  being  finished,  another 
— a  mere  rifle  pit,  higher  up  the  slope — ^was  made 
for  the  captain's  observation  post,  and  still  an- 
other for  a  northerly  outpost.  Having  turfed 
the  outside  of  these,  we  picked  the  milkweed  stalks 
that  stood  in  great  numbers,  and  set  them  at 
proper  intervals  with  artistic  irregularity,  while 
for  the  captain  was  provided  a  Httle  bush.  I 
company's  trenches  were  further  to  the  south. 

We  were  finishing,  and  Corder  had  just  said 


238  AT  PLATTSBURG 

"We  need  a  shower  to  clean  this  dirty  turf," 
when  the  shower  came.  The  captain  ordered  us 
into  our  packs  and  ponchos,  and  then  into  the 
trench.  Though  the  shower  was  short  the  wind 
was  increasingly  cold,  and  I  was  glad  of  the  pro- 
tection of  my  poncho.  For  in  that  trench  we 
remained  for  an  hour  and  three  quarters,  before 
anything  really  happened. 

I  had  time  to  study  a  good  many  things.  The 
depth  to  which  grass  roots  will  go  in  sandy  soil: 
at  least  two  feet.  The  amount  of  sand  that  gets 
into  the  lock  of  one's  rifle.  The  continual  dis- 
comfort of  sand  blowing  into  one's  eyes.  The 
cold  that  strikes  up  through  the  stone,  or  the 
sand,  on  which  one  sits.  The  personaHty  of  my 
neighbor  of  Squad  Nine,  who  seemed  much  less 
interested  in  his  life  as  a  banker  than  I  was.  The 
incalculable  value  of  the  pack  as  a  life-saver,  for 
having  to  lean  against  the  wall  of  the  narrow 
trench,  nothing  but  the  roll  on  my  back  kept  me 
from  the  deadly  chill  of  pneumonia.  But  most 
interesting  of  all  was  the  behavior  of  the  men. 

As  we  worked  at  digging  the  trench  we  nat- 
urally, being  intelligent  volunteers,  had  many 
sub-directors,  and  much  grumbling  at  so  much 
unofficial  ordering.  Randall,  during  one  of  his 
rests,  deHvered  himseK  with  much  disgust.  "  There 
never  was  an  American,''  said  he,  "who  could 
take  orders.  Each  man  thinks  he  knows  best. 
We  need  to  learn  to  obey."  Well,  once  we  were 
down  in  the  trench,  it  was  Randall's  head  that 


AT  PLATTSBURG  239 

was  continually  popping  up,  and  continually  be- 
ing ordered  down;  and  it  was  Randall  who  would 
light  cigarettes,  though  ordered  not  to.  An  hour 
and  three  quarters  is  a  long  time  to  wait,  and  the 
cramped  space  was  very  tiring.  Further,  we  were 
excited  by  the  sound  of  firing,  I  suppose  from  the 
driving  in  of  the  detachment  which  the  lieu- 
tenant had  taken  off  to  the  east,  so  of  course 
everyone  wanted  to  see.  In  addition,  our  two 
sergeants,  who  have  none  too  much  authority, 
were  together  at  one  end  of  the  platoon,  away 
from  the  most  impatient  of  the  men,  and  so  were 
quite  unable  to  control  Randall  and  other  rest- 
less spirits.  Randall,  arguing  that  no  one  could 
see  him,  would  pop  up  his  head,  others  imitated, 
and  so  on  the  whole  a  fine  example  of  discipline 
our  platoon  made.  But  David,  lost  in  wonder  at 
such  wilfulness,  never  raised  his  head  above  the 
parapet. 

Well,  at  last  we  heard  the  captain's  whistle, 
and  steadied.  His  voice  came:  "Range,  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  yards."  We  set  our  sights. 
"At  one  o'clock,  to  the  right  of  the  cemetery, 
fire  at  will!"  We  stood  upright  (it  was  a  reHef 
to  straighten  out!)  and  I  saw,  across  the  valley, 
beside  a  little  cemetery  on  the  top  of  the  further 
hill,  some  moving  figures,  at  which  I  fired  a  couple 
of  clips.  Then  "Cease  firing!"  We  locked  our 
pieces;  the  men  had  disappeared.  "  Down,  men !" 
And  we  crouched  again.  But  next  we  heard 
"Battle  sight — ^at  four  o'clock — ^fire  at  will,"  and 


240  AT  PLATTSBURG 

when  we  stood  up  there  was  a  line  of  skirmishers 
advancing  out  of  the  woods  beyond  the  railway 
cutting,  about  where  the  figure  four  would  be  on 
a  great  clock-face  if  spread  before  us  on  the  land- 
scape, we  ourselves  being  at  the  six.  But  while  I 
was  popping  contentedly  away  at  these  men  our 
platoon  was  ordered  first  to  cease  firing,  and  then 
to  leave  the  trench  and  rush  to  the  top  of  the  hill, 
which  we  did  helter-skelter,  none,  not  even  our 
leader,  knowing  why. 

At  the  very  ridge  we  were  met,  slap  in  the  face, 
by  a  fierce  wind  of  which  we  in  the  trench  had  as 
yet  got  no  inkling,  which  blew  our  ponchos  all 
about,  and  savagely  drove  heavy  drops  of  rain 
in  our  eyes.  In  the  midst  of  this  surprise  we  were 
confronted  by  an  orderly,  who  pointing  along 
the  ridge,  told  us  that  we  were  to  form  in  column 
of  squads.  In  which  direction  we  should  face, 
and  which  squad  first,  7  or  10,  he  did  not  say.  It 
is  easy  enough  now  to  see  what  our  leader  should 
have  done.  He  should  have  said:  "Men,  get 
down  out  of  the  line  of  the  enemy's  (highly  imag- 
inary) fire.  Now,  my  good  messenger,  what  are 
my  orders?  And  meanwhile,  my  wise  privates, 
keep  silence."  But  nothing  of  the  sort.  There  we 
stayed  on  the  ridge,  and  there  we  finally  formed 
in  column  of  squads,  all  the  time  in  full  view  of 
the  enemy,  who  might  have  potted  the  last  man 
of  us.  The  major  at  last  came  to  the  rescue,  got 
us  down  from  the  ridge,  and  in  the  hearing  of  us 
aU  roasted  poor  Jones  quite  as  well  as  the  lieu- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  .       241 

tenant  did  yesterday.  "If  you  have  a  brain,  sir, 
don't  use  it.  Stay  in  sight  of  the  enemy  and  be 
shot."  Then  he  sent  us  by  a  way  I  never  should 
have  chosen  in  cold  blood,  across  the  top  of  a 
steep  slope,  with  sHding  sand  and  loose  stones 
underfoot,  while  all  the  time  the  same  wind  and 
rain  whipped  and  beat  us  immercifuUy.  At  last 
we  were  halted  behind  another  hill,  put  in  skir- 
mish line,  and  told  what  we  were  to  do.  We  were 
to  rush  the  ridge,  then  to  rim  down  to  a  trench 
made  and  occupied  by  our  engineers,  while  they, 
being  worn  out  by  many  days  of  fighting  in  it, 
were  to  vacate  it.  We  executed  the  order  smartly, 
dashing  down  to  the  trench,  the  engineers,  at 
sight  of  us,  scrambling  out  and  running  for  cover. 
I  foimd  myself  jumping  down  into  a  trench  as 
deep  as  my  shoulder,  very  finely  made.  Different 
from  our  trench,  which  was  protected  from  en- 
filading only  by  cross  walls  at  intervals,  this 
trench  zigzagged;  moreover,  its  parapet  was 
wattled.  The  engineers  must  have  worked  at  it 
from  early  dawn,  imless  they  brought  their  hur- 
dles with  them. 

(There,  I  have  at  last  got  my  hay !) 
Well,  there  was  but  little  more.  A  man  emerg- 
ing on  a  distant  slope,  commanding  a  ridge  along 
which  any  successful  attack  must  come,  I  hit  him 
squarely  in  the  middle,  only  to  discover  when  too 
late  that  he  was  an  umpire.  Two  of  our  fellows 
claimed  to  have  shot  a  buzzard,  and  contended  for 
the  honor.    When  at  last  we  saw  real  enemies, 


242  AT  PLATTSBURG 

two  platoons  coming  into  full  view  below  us,  we 
shot  them  all  to  pieces.  An  umpire  told  them  that 
they  were  dead,  whereupon  they  formed  in  line 
and  went  through  the  manual  of  arms,  to  get  them- 
selves warm.  Then  we  were  collected  and  marched 
back,  triumphant.  It  seems  that  we  were  told 
that  if  we  held  our  line  till  one  o'clock,  we  won. 
It  was  past  the  hour,  and  our  victory  was  com- 
plete. We  marched  to  camp  in  good  spirits,  being 
especially  pleased  to  hear  the  major  (the  oppos- 
ing major !)  compHment  Captain  Kirby  on  the  ex- 
cellence of  his  trench.  Our  trench !  We  finished 
two  himdred  and  fifty  feet  in  an  hour  and  twenty 
minutes.  We  are  told  that  the  trench  was  quite 
invisible,  even  after  we  had  begim  firing,  and 
that  we  were  betrayed  only  by  the  white  bands 
on  our  hats. 

I  have  talked  with  one  of  the  men  who  was  left 
at  a  bridge  to  tell  any  pursuers  that  it  was  blown 
up.  He  said  that  it  gave  him  great  pleasure  to 
loll  on  the  railing  and  watch  a  platoon  ford  the 
cold  stream  up  to  their  waists. 

With  great  relief  I  left  the  ground.  We  have  so 
carefully  policed  each  camping  place  that  I  had 
awful  visions  of  having  to  fill  in  the  trenches  and 
replace  the  sod.  But  by  some  arrangement  with 
the  owner  of  the  land  we  left  the  trenches  as 
memorials  of  our  great  fight.  How  many  cows  wiU 
they  trap,  I  wonder. 

Our  breakfast  was  at  six,  and  we  had  no  lunch 
till  two  o'clock.    Whether  we  were  himgry?    In 


AT  PLATTSBURG  243 

spite  of  this  settled  cold  rain,  which  curiously  is 
from  the  west,  the  men  are  in  good  spirits,  though 
they  show  it  by  yowling  at  every  bugle  call  that 
summons  them  out. 

This  letter  is  written  up  to  date,  and  so  I'll 
close  it.    Love  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Cherubusco,  Saturday  the  30th,  evening. 
In  a  farmhouse  kitchen,  where  some  of  my  things  are 
drying,  and  where  I,  sitting  in  a  CHAIR,  am  writ- 
ing at  a  TABLE  I 

Dear  Mother: — 

Yesterday  I  said  to  Knudsen,  while  David  Ks- 
tened,  "The  trouble  with  our  platoon  is  that  we 
don't  particularly  care  for  our  sergeants,  and  have 
got  into  the  way  of  knocking  them.  IVe  done 
more  or  less  of  it  myseK.  Now  it  may  be  no 
more  than  they  deserve,  but  it's  bad  for  our  dis- 
cipline and  our  work.  Don't  you  suppose  we 
could  turn  about  and  help  the  sergeants  more? 
If  you  should  lead  in  it,  it  would  make  a  differ- 
ence in  the  whole  platoon,  for  I  notice  that  every- 
one wants  to  know  your  opinion."  David's  face 
showed  that  he  approved,  so  Knudsen  agreed, 
and  we  three  talking  to  our  squad  and  Squad 
Nine,  have  started  a  Httle  Good  Government  As- 
sociation.   I  think  today  it  did  good. 

Last  night  was  a  long  one  for  me.  I  am  still 
unable  to  get  myself  a  woollen  cap,  and  though  I 
used  the  felt  hat  for  both  the  cold  and  the  rain, 
it  rolled  away  at  every  excuse.  To  keep  out  the 
rain,  I  had  laid  my  poncho  on  the  windward  side 
of  the  tent,  buttoning  it  along  the  ridgepole;  but 
it  slapped  a  good  deal  of  the  time.    The  entrance- 

244 


AT  PLATTSBURG  245 

flaps,  which  some  of  the  fellows  always  button,  I 
had  open  for  the  air,  and  they  thrashed  all  night. 
Beside  me  Bann  slept  like  a  child;  but  I  was 
pretty  damp  when  I  went  to  bed,  the  rain  and  the 
wind  came  through,  and  every  little  thing  waked 
me.  Twice  a  peg  pulled  out,  but  the  tent  stood, 
and  I  was  able  to  put  it  in  again.  So  the  night 
was  long.  Yet  I  got  some  sleep,  and  we  were 
surely  better  off  than  our  opposite  neighbors, 
whose  tent  blew  down  soon  after  midnight,  so 
that  they  had  to  crawl  out  and  set  it  up  in  the 
dark  and  the  driving  rain. 

There  are  camp  tales  of  all  kinds  of  hardships. 
Some  stayed  round  the  fires  all  night  to  keep 
warm;  some,  their  tents  collapsing,  took  refuge  on 
a  nearby  piazza;  some  talk  of  washing  their  faces 
this  morning  in  hoar  frost.    But  I  saw  none  of  this. 

The  yowlings  which  usually  greet  the  bugler 
on  any  unwelcome  occasion  were  absent  this 
morning,  for  most  of  us  were  ready  to  rise,  or 
already  risen.  There  was  at  first  only  a  drizzle, 
in  which  I  ate  breakfast;  it  surely  was  better  than 
last  night,  with  the  steady  rain  rimning  from  my 
hat  into  my  stew  as  I  bent  over  it,  and  cooling 
as  well  as  diluting  it,  besides  searching  out  vul- 
nerable- parts  of  my  person,  which  a  poncho  does 
not  truly  protect.  Yesterday  I  set  my  things 
down  on  a  wet  board;  today  I  stood  at  the  high 
running-board  of  an  auto-truck,  a  very  desirable 
position.  Yet  I  thought  my  hands  have  seldom 
been  colder  than  when  I  stood  in  line  this  morning, 


246  AT  PLATTSBURG 

unable  to  give  them  the  protection  of  gloves  or 
pockets. 

In  the  same  drizzle  we  broke  camp,  packed 
our  squad-bags  and  blanket-rolls,  and  made  our 
packs.  It  rained  as  we  started,  and  the  whole 
outlook  was  bad — ^for  to  march  ten  miles  in  the 
wet,  and  then  to  make  camp  under  these  same 
conditions,  was  soldiering  indeed. 

Yet  ten  minutes  after  we  had  left  camp,  the 
advance  guard  of  the  battalion,  we  were  staring 
at  each  other  in  new  dismay.  For  pop-pop !  Our 
point  had  found  the  enemy.  Now  for  comfort  a 
skirmish  ought  to  be  fought  near  the  new  camping 
ground:  anticipation  keeps  us  going  till  the  fight 
begins,  and  then  at  the  end,  weary,  we  have  but  a 
short  way  to  march.  This  was  the  deuce  1  In  a 
moment  we  were  turned  aside  into  a  field,  and 
saw  the  white  hat-bands  beyond  a  fence  in  front. 
First  deployment,  then  "Down,  men!''  and  flat 
I  threw  myseK  into  a  six  inch  bed  of  clover,  as 
wet  as  a  sponge.  From  this  couch  I  fired  for  a 
while,  was  ordered  up,  hurried  with  the  squad 
forward  to  a  new  line,  flopped  again,  fired,  and 
then  dashed  once  more. 

For  two  hours,  mother,  this  sort  of  thing  con- 
tinued. In  a  long  line  our  company  spread  over 
the  fields,  now  one  part  advancing,  then  the  rest. 
Sometimes  we  were  flat,  sometimes  we  might 
squat  on  cold  stones  behind  a  wall,  sometimes  we 
were  climbing  walls  and  rimning  forward.  Dis- 
covering that  it  was  wetter  below  me  than  above, 


AT  PLATTSBURG  247 

I  hung  my  poncho  at  my  hip,  and  when  we  flopped, 
fell  on  it.  We  struck  soft  ground  and  formed  in 
squad  columns,  then  came  to  a  place  where  the 
enemy  was  visible  in  a  sugar-bush,  across  a  ravine. 
Down  into  the  gully  I  plimged  among  the  rest, 
and  in  a  confusion  of  men  each  seeking  in  a  hurry 
the  best  way  across,  got  through  two  wire  fences, 
forced  my  way  among  a  growth  of  alders,  and 
splashed  through  a  brook,  luckily  no  deeper  than 
my  ankles.  Then  up  the  steep  slope,  and  as  soon 
as  the  platoon  was  gathered  at  the  top  Jones  cried 
"Follow  me," — ^and  those  whose  wind  was  poor 
began  to  lag.  The  enemy  was  driven  from  this 
position,  then  as  we  followed  him  he  fired  at  us 
again  from  behind  a  stone  wall,  for  there  were 
plenty  here,  with  others  of  all  kinds.  We  drove 
him  again,  our  laggards  helping  where  they  could, 
coming  up  to  us  as  we  paused  to  fire  and  falling 
down  to  pant.  Poor  Corder !  Part  of  the  charges 
he  was  in,  part  he  had  to  plod  after,  out  of  breath. 
A  minute's  rest  would  freshen  him,  and  then  he 
would  keep  up  for  a  while.  But  the  pace  was  hot, 
until  suddenly  the  enemy  vanished.  In  pursuit, 
we  crossed  a  wide  space  with  broad  flat  weather- 
worn ledges,  then  came  upon  soft  ground,  and 
were  bogged. 

The  part  that  confronted  our  squad  was  a  hog- 
wallow  below  a  pig  pen  and  nicely  full  of  water 
from  the  rain.  Light-footed  David  slipped  across, 
but  I,  being  heavier,  plunged  in  up  to  my  shin. 
Then  came  a  barbed  wire  fence,  with  the  wires 


248  AT  PLATTSBURG 

so  taut  that  they  would  not  separate  to  let  us 
through,  nor  sag  to  let  us  easily  over.  We  were 
helpmg  each  other,  as  is  the  rule,  and  the  ser- 
geant was  hurrying  us,  as  was  his  duty,  when  he 
was  answered  back  by  a  corporal — ^not  of  our 
platoon,  but  one  who  with  his  squad  had  become 
annexed  in  the  confusion.  A  Httle  back-talk  with 
an  audience  of  silent  men;  our  fellows  remembered 
the  new  agreement.  Then  on  we  went  again, 
stormed  another  position,  and  at  last,  every 
cartridge  spent  (my  head  was  ringing  with  the 
firing,  and  rings  yet!)  we  were  assembled  in  the 
muddy  road. 

A  Httle  interview,  then  while  we  rested,  between 
the  sergeant,  the  corporal,  and  the  captain,  who 
demanded  the  reason  for  our  platoon's  delay. 
The  corporal  was  explanatory;  the  captain  had  to 
silence  him.  Then  the  captain  praised  the  com- 
pany. (He  also  sent  a  message  to  us  at  Retreat, 
where  the  lieutenant  commanded — ^we  had  done 
well;  he  would  try  to  keep  us  out  of  brooks  here- 
after. I  like  these  laconic  statements;  they 
mean  much.)  Then  I  company,  with  full  cartridge 
belts,  took  up  the  advance-guard  work  along  the 
road,  and  we  saw  them  rummage  out  of  a  barn 
some  cavalrymen  who  had  hidden  there.  But 
soon,  the  day's  manoeuvre  over,  we  began  the  hike 
to  camp.    I  wish  you  could  have  seen  it. 

The  rain  was  over,  though  it  was  still  cloudy 
and  the  cold  wind  was  strong.  The  road  was  a 
mass  of  mud;  there  was  no  walking  in  it.    We 


AT  PLATTSBURG  249 

made  two  long  lines,  one  on  each  side  of  it,  and 
took  up  our  brisk  walk.  Mile  after  mile  in  every 
footing,  through  desolate  country  where  the 
scrub  was  low,  the  land  sHghtly  rolling,  bleak,  im- 
inhabited.  The  road  ran  mostly  straight;  as  it 
dipped  you  could  see  ahead  the  two  lines  of  men 
swiftly  plodding  on  and  on. 

There  was  talk  at  first,  and  some  jokes.  "  That 
road  looks  worse  than  this,"  said  one.  "I  wonder 
they  didn't  take  us  down  it."  The  bushes  looked 
very  wet.  "How  about  squad  columns  through 
that  brush?"  suggested  one.  "Try  the  prone 
position  from  the  middle  of  the  road,"  retorted 
another,  as  we  passed  a  great  puddle.  A  later 
puddle,  chocolate  brown,  roused  another  man's 
regrets.  "I'd  hke  to  stop  and  wash  my  breakfast 
kit.  I  used  the  water  they  provided  at  camp,  but 
this  looks  better  to  me."  But  gradually  all  talk 
died  away,  and  we  just  drove  on  and  on.  There 
were  questions,  of  occasional  teams  that  we 
passed,  as  to  the  distance  to  Cherubusco.  "  Three 
miles,"  and  again  after  an  hour  "Three  miles!" 
Well,  it  was  a  long  hike,  nearly  two  hours,  and  I 
am  glad  to  say  without  halt,  for  in  that  wind  we 
should  have  frozen.  But  we  began  to  dry  off. 
At  last  the  sight  of  the  trucks  and  the  cook-tents 
cheered  us,  and  we  marched  onto  the  ground  where 
four  companies  were  already  finishing  their  dinner. 
We  had  driven  off  their  enemy,  and  they  had 
marched  straight  through. 

The  ground  here  holds  the  tent-pins  well;  the 


250  AT  PLATTSBURG 

tent  is  secure.  But  I  stood  in  line  for  half  an  hour 
in  the  wind,  cold  and  ever  colder  in  my  poncho, 
while  they  let  us  in  driblets  into  a  barn  and  doled 
us  out  hay  at  high  prices.  I  felt  very  cross  against 
the  good  woman  at  whose  table  I  now  write,  for 
not  devising  a  quicker  system — though  she  suf- 
fered from  it  too,  for  her  teeth  were  chattering  as 
she  passed  me  through.  But  everything  goes  by; 
even  while  I  shivered  the  wind  dried  my  clothes; 
and  I  had  cold  feet  for  only  a  couple  of  hours,  by 
which  time  I  had  dried  out  a  pair  of  fresh  stock- 
ings, and  put  them  on  with  my  dry  boots.  Since 
then  I  have  been  comfortably  warm.  We  had 
fires,  about  which  we  sat;  the  sun  at  last  came  out 
(you  should  have  heard  the  shout  at  the  first  thin 
rays !)  and  we  have  had  a  wonderful  clear  orange 
sunset,  with  spruces  silhouetted  against  it,  and 
the  early  setting  of  the  young  moon.  Now  it  is 
clear  and  cold  and  quiet  outside,  with  the  northern 
lights  flashing  and  glowing,  violet  and  white,  in 
cloud-like  masses  or  shifting  spires. 

Well,  such  was  the  day,  a  hard  one  in  many 
ways.  Says  a  sergeant  sitting  by  the  stove,  "I 
can  describe  it  in  two  words.  Damn  nasty."  But 
I  am  no  more  than  ordinarily  tired,  and  am  dry. 
The  hardships  of  such  a  day  are  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  poor  devils  in  the  trenches 
across  the  water. 

I  must  close  this  letter  and  leave  it  at  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  for  the  call  to  quarters  has  just 
soimded.    In  fact  it  is  welcome,  for  I  am  very 


AT  PLATTSBURG  251 

sleepy.  I  am  leaving  my  wet  shoes  here  to  dry. 
We  have  just  learned,  to  our  sorrow,  that  we  work 
tomorrow — Sunday !  But  there  is  one  good  piece 
of  news — our  overcoats  are  coming !  Much  love 
from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Letter  Home 

Sunday f  at  Cherubusco,  about  8. JO  A.  M. 
Sitting  in  the  sun,  in  my  overcoat,  at  the  lent  door. 

Dear  Mother: — 

After  finishing  my  letter  at  the  farmhouse  last 
night,  and  getting  from  the  good  woman  my  second 
pair  of  dry  stockings,  I  put  on  everything  warm 
that  I  had,  and  went  to  bed.  Fires  were  burning 
everywhere,  with  Httle  groups  of  talking  men 
around  them;  but  the  camp  settled  down  very 
quickly.  It  pleased  me  to  hear  the  first  sergeant 
rounding  up  men  to  help  in  unloading  the  over- 
coats; but  then  I  slept,  and  except  for  periods 
when  I  woke  in  the  night  and  as  usual  told  time 
by  Orion,  I  slept  sound.  The  men  are  all  declar- 
ing that  they  slept  well,  all  but  one  man,  who 
said  he  was  miserably  cold,  and  looks  it.  It  was  a 
cold  night,  with  a  heavy  frost  forming  even  inside 
my  tent,  and  ice  in  my  canteen  when  I  tried  to 
drink  from  it  this  morning.  But  now,  warm  and 
full,  I  am  very  comfortable,  waiting  for  the  call 
at  9.45  to  go  out  and  inspect  the  outposts  which 
the  first  battalion  are  now  setting.  The  captain 
has  been  up  and  down  the  street,  inquiring  how 
we  are;  he  stopped  to  speak  to  me,  feehng,  I 
think,  less  constraint  with  me  than  he  used. 

It  was  very  busy  in  camp  for  an  hour  after 
breakfast.  Men  were  cleaning  their  shoes — and 
some  were  mourning  over  them,  not  having  taken 

252 


AT  PLATTSBURG  253 

warning  against  leaving  them  too  close  to  the  fire, 
when  though  the  leather  may  not  be  really  burned 
it  will  lose  its  life  and  crack.  Others  were  spread- 
ing blankets  and  clothes  to  dry,  preparing  the 
short  pack  (without  the  roll)  for  our  tour  of  in- 
spection, recleaning  rifles,  shaving,  mending  their 
clothes.  Smoke  is  now  drifting  from  a  hundred 
fires,  and  towels  and  imderwear  are  spread  on  the 
tents  or  flapping  from  improvised  clothes  lines.. 
But  the  camp  is  slowly  settling  down  into  quiet, 
for  work  is  done,  the  sim  keeps  us  warm,  and 
everybody  is  quite  content. 

I  have  just  Hstened  to  the  story  that  Newbold, 
the  corporal  of  Squad  Nine,  tells  of  the  fetching  of 
the  overcoats.  On  arriving  at  camp  yesterday, 
wet  through,  he  found  that  the  new  shoes  which 
he  bought  at  the  camp  exchange  in  Plattsburg 
just  before  leaving  for  the  hike,  were  too  small, 
and  asked  the  captain's  permission  to  go  to  the 
village  here  and  try  to  get  another  pair.  The 
captain,  after  finding  out  his  need,  said  "You  can 
change  them  in  Plattsburg.  Be  ready  in  five 
minutes  to  start  with  the  truck."  So  Newbold 
found  himself  in  command  of  a  five-ton  truck, 
wallowing  through  these  roads  till  they  struck 
the  macadam,  forty-five  miles  in  all  to  Platts- 
burg. There  he  presented  his  written  orders, 
started  the  loading  of  the  truck,  and  went  out 
swinging  his  shoes  by  the  strings  till  he  found  a 
shop  where  he  could  make  a  swap,  the  camp  ex- 
change being  closed.     Forty-five  miles  over  the 


254  AT  PLATTSBURG 

road  again,  he  dozing  in  a  nest  he  made  among 
the  overcoats,  and  arriving  in  time  to  go  to  bed 
at  Taps. 

The  overcoats  will  keep  us  safe  from  now  on. 
But  the  hard  work  of  the  past  two  days  has 
knocked  out  a  few  more  men.  Hale,  who  felt  the 
cold  night  so  severely,  proves  to  be  threatened 
with  bronchitis,  and  has  been  sent  in  to  the  hos- 
pital. Hageman,  with  digestion  on  strike,  has  to 
leave  us  for  good.  I  may  mention  men  to  you 
for  the  first  time,  but  you  must  imderstand  that 
I  have  acquaintance  with  a  great  many  now, 
and  when  in  future  I  hear  their  cities  mentioned, 
Kansas  City,  Cleveland,  wherever  else,  I  shall 
always  remember  that  I  have  friends  there. 

— {Afternoon)  We  finished  the  morning  with 
some  genuine  outpost  work.  The  first  battalion, 
going  early,  set  a  circle  of  outposts  to  the  west, 
which  our  battalion,  going  later,  had  to  find  and 
relieve.  While  it  was  interesting  from  a  mili- 
tary standpoint,  I  can  scarcely  hope  to  make  it 
picturesque  to  you.  Supposing  an  enemy  ready 
to  drop  on  us,  we  had  to  keep  out  of  his  sight 
while  watching  for  him,  and  also  to  ferret  out 
sentry  posts  which  for  the  same  reason  had  been 
pretty  carefully  hidden,  and  to  which  our  di- 
rections were  the  vaguest.  It  was  all  done  with 
thoroughness  and  care;  we  had  the  usual  bogs  to 
cross  and  brooks  to  jump;  we  found  our  men  in 
hollows,  thickets,  and  even  in  trees;  and  finally 
to  our  joy  (for  the  day  was  hot  and  we  were  most- 


^  AT  PLATTSBURG  255 

ly  sleepy  from  yesterday)  we  were  brought  home, 
fed,  and  allowed  to  snooze. 

Some  of  the  indefatigables  begged  for  the  day 
and  have  gone  to  Canada,  which  is  but  three 
miles  away.  But  most  of  us  are  content  to  loll  in 
camp  and  rest  up,  especially  considering  the  fact 
that  tomorrow  we  are  again  to  be  the  advance 
guard.  This  being  for  the  second  time  in  suc- 
cession, seems  to  us  something  of  a  compliment, 
and  H  company  is  proud. 

I  hear  someone  coming  and  saying,  "Mr.  God- 
win is  wanted  at  the  head  of  the  street."  The 
lieutenant  1 

(Evening.)  Yes,  it  was  Lieutenant  Pendleton, 
of  whom,  by  the  way,  I  have  seen  very  little  for 
some  time.  For  we  go  very  much  by  platoons, 
as  you  have  noticed;  and  he  having  command  of 
the  first  is  out  of  my  ken.  But  whenever  I  have 
seen  him  he  is  always  the  same,  very  cool,  in- 
scrutable, accurate,  and  busy.  His  men  are  de- 
voted to  him.  Well,  he  came  walking  along, 
scrutinizing  the  groups,  and  when  he  foimd  me, 
deUvering  the  simmions,  returning  my  salute, 
and  passing  on  with  his  little  smile.  As  he  did 
not  come  back  at  all,  I  see  that  he  took  that 
method  of  making  his  escape. 

For  when  I  got  to  the  head  of  the  street  there 
was  a  big  touring  car,  the  captain  standing  talk- 
ing beside  it,  and  in  it,  besides  the  old  Colonel 
and  our  old  neighbors  the  Chapmans,  were  Vera 
and  her  sister  Frances.     Some  other  officers  were 


256  AT  PLATTSBURG 

likewise  there,  and  when  the  visitors  descended 
to  walk  about,  took  charge  of  them.  I,  a  hum- 
ble private  lingering  near  because  commanded, 
thought  that  now  I  might  sHp  away;  but  Vera 
in  her  usual  way  chose  her  own  partner,  and 
chose  me. 

The  camp  did  not  interest  her  especially;  she 
had  seen  it  at  a  glance  from  the  automobile.  The 
way  we  lived  was  at  once  familiar  to  her;  I  soon 
found  that  she  did  not  want  me  to  explain  any- 
thing. Knowing  that  she  always  has  her  own 
purposes,  and  also  knowing  that  I  can  never 
guess  them,  I  waited  for  her  to  declare  herself. 
She  selected  a  convenient  seat  on  a  stone  wall, 
where  we  could  see  everything;  every  man  who 
went  by  stared  at  her  in  admiration,  and  evidently 
said  to  himself,  "Isn't  that  rookie  in  luck!'' 

Her  pretence  was  that  she  wanted  to  know 
about  me,  so  as  to  write  you;  but  pretences  with 
Vera  are  very  open.  Really  she  wanted  to  know 
about  the  captain — ^what  kind  of  a  man,  how  he 
treated  us,  how  we  liked  him.  She  couldn't  quite 
bring  herseK  to  say,  "Dick,  tell  me  about  him!" 
There  is  always  Vera's  pride.  But  after  all, 
there  never  need  be  concealments  between  us; 
she  knows  we  are  to  be  friends  all  our  lives.  So 
she  let  me  see  what  she  wouldn't  plainly  say. 
And  I  answered  quite  as  plainly:  a  fine  captain, 
a  fine  man,  the  fellows  swore  by  him. 

She  objected.    "He  says  they  hate  him." 

"Perhaps  you  never  before,"  I  said,  "came 


\  AT  PLATTSBURG  257 

across  an  aggressive  man  who  is  modest.  I  know 
he  thinks  that;  it  merely  shows  that  he  can't 
work  for  popularity.  But  he  was  telling  us  re- 
cently of  the  practice  hikes  he  has  been  giving 
his  company  in  Panama,  to  show  that  after  all 
the  hardest  work  is  what  we  shall  look  back  on 
with  the  most  pride.  It  was  as  plain  as  day  to 
us,  though  not  to  him,  that  the  men  there  are 
like  our  fellows  here — they  will  do  anything  for 
him." 

She  dropped  the  subject;  one  not  knowing  Vera 
would  have  supposed  that  she  was  not  even  in- 
terested in  it,  but  I  knew  that  she  had  learned 
what  she  wanted.  Idly  she  looked  down  the  com- 
pany street.  "What  are  those  men  doing?"  she 
asked. 

A  bunch  of  the  men,  growing  every  minute, 
had  been  singing  to  the  tune  of  Solomon  Levi 
words  that  were  not  clear  to  us,  being  too  far 
away.  "It  must  be  the  new  company  song,"  I 
said.  "IVe  been  told  it's  good.  The  fellows  are 
learning  it. — See,  they're  coming  this  way.  I 
beheve  they  mean  to  sing  it  to  the  captain !" 

Our  other  visitors  were  returning,  headed  by 
the  captain  and  Frances.  The  men,  grouped  by 
the  water  barrel  at  the  head  of  the  street,  waited 
till  he  was  near,  pushed  their  leader  out  in  front, 
and  in  hoarse  whispers  commanded  him  to  begin. 
You  must  imderstand  that  Vera  promptly,  but 
without  hurry,  had  got  me  close  enough  to  listen. 
He  sang  the  solo. 


258  AT  PLATTSBURG 

"One  night  as  I  lay  dreaming, 
Underneath  the  stars, 
The  buzzard  stole  between  the  tents 
To  sell  us  chocolate  bars. 
The  captain  took  him  by  the  scruff 
And  kicked  him  in  the  seat, 
And  said  'You  greedy  buzzard, 
Get  out  of  the  company  street !'  " 

The  delighted  men  roared  the  chorus. 

"Poor  old  buzzard,  get  away  out  of  here  1 
Poor  old  buzzard,  get  away  out  of  here ! 
For  we  are  Captain  Kirby^s  men, 

We  neither  drink  nor  swear. 
We  never  wash  our  hands  or  face 

Nor  change  our  underwear. 
We  never  do  a  thing  that's  wrong, 

As  you  can  plainly  see. 
For  we  are  Captain  Kirby's  men 

Of  old  H  company  I " 

Then,  evidently  immensely  pleased,  and  laugh- 
ing to  themselves,  the  fellows  melted  away  in  all 
directions. 

As  for  Vera,  she  was  not  daimted  by  the  prim- 
itive simplicity  of  the  words.  She  looked  at  the 
captain  and  noted  his  confusion,  looked  at  me 
and  made  no  answer  to  my  question,  "Now  don't 
you  see  they  like  him?"  But  she  gave  me  a 
kindly  little  push  toward  Frances,  and  said,  "  Go 
and  talk  with  her.  I've  brought  her  all  this  way 
to  see  you."  And  in  another  moment  she  had  the 
captain  as  her  partner,  and  was  making  him  tell 


AT  PLATTSBURG  259 

her  all  the  little  things  she  would  not  listen  to 
from  me. 

It  was  nice  to  see  Frances.  She  told  me  all 
about  you,  and  asked  about  David;  and  the  street 
being  now  very  neat  with  the  laimdry  put  away, 
and  my  tent  not  very  far,  she  walked  down  and 
looked  at  it,  and  met  every  one  of  the  squad,  yes, 
and  knew  all  about  every  one  in  advance,  by  which 
I  see  that  you  have  read  her  all  my  letters.  The 
boys  were  greatly  struck  with  her;  when  our 
visitors  had  gone  and  I  came  back  to  our  fire. 
Clay  in  his  Southern  way  paid  me  the  nicest 
compliments  for  her,  and  Pickle  swore  that  she 
was  a  peach.  Then  when  I  thought  the  subject 
was  exhausted  Knudsen  came  out  of  a  brown  study 
with  the  remark,  "She's  almost  as  handsome  as 
her  sister,  and  besides  she's  the  real  thing." 

And  truly,  mother,  stimning  as  Vera  is,  there's 
something  about  Frances's  eyes  and  mouth  that 
is  particularly  pleasing,  don't  you  think  ? 

There  next  taking  place  an  Episcopal  service 
in  the  open  air,  I  went  to  it.  It  was  under  the 
trees  near  the  farmhouse.  A  rustic  cross  was 
made  and  set  up,  there  were  a  few  flowers  at  a 
simple  altar,  and  the  rail  was  just  a  piece  of  white 
birch  nailed  up  between  two  trees;  nothing  could 
be  more  appropriate.  At  least  a  himdred  and 
fifty  men  attended;  I  couldn't  ask  to  hear  a 
better  sermon;  and  finally,  the  minister  giving 
such  an  invitation  to  commimion  as  a  man  of  my 
free  beliefs  could  accept,  I  stayed  to  it.     Dusk 


26o  AT  PLATTSBURG 

was  falling  as  we  came  away,  and  we  were  called 
together  for  Retreat. 

Troops  of  the  townspeople  have  visited  the 
town  all  day,  some  looking  as  if  they  had  come 
from  a  distance.  They  have  gawked  all  about, 
have  Hstened  to  the  band  concert,  and  stood  about 
and  watched  our  reHgious  service  as  if  it  had  been 
a  show.  But  the  best  was  at  Retreat.  The  band 
had  finished  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  the  cap- 
tain tinned  and  brought  us  to  attention,  then 
pivoted  about  and  stood  at  attention,  looking 
straight  in  front  of  him.  A  Httle  group  of  coun- 
try folk  had  pressed  up  very  close,  and  seeing  him 
look  so  fixedly  at  something,  they  all  swung  about 
and  stared  too.  Failing  to  find  any  imusual  ob- 
ject nailed  to  the  barn  which  was  immediately  in 
front,  they  turned  back  presently,  puzzled  or  re- 
proachful When  at  the  end  of  the  bugle  call  he 
turned  to  dismiss  us,  the  captain  could  scarcely 
maintain  his  miHtary  gravity. 

I  finish  this  at  the  squad  fire,  with  the  fellows 
discussing  the  revival  of  the  rumor  concerning 
the  ball  cartridges.  They  have  not  been  foimd; 
some  fool  is  stiU  toting  them  about;  they  are  in 
A  company,  B  company,  and  so  on  down  the  list. 

Tomorrow  we  move  on  again,  my  cartridge-belt 
is  full,  and  I  have  got  everything  ready  for  our 
early  start.  The  night  is  clear  and  cold — ^but  we 
are  hardened  to  anything  now.    Love  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

In  camp  at  Ellenhurg  Center. 

Sitting  before  the  tent,  on  my  blankets. 

Monday  the  2d  October y  igi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

The  other  companies  are  cheering  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  I  suppose  I  know  why.  For  our  com- 
pany has  been  spared  a  great  affliction,  which 
would  have  been  very  cruel  after  a  hard  morn- 
ing's work.  We  came  into  camp  a  long  hour  after 
everybody  else,  and  had  just  pitched  our  tents 
and  had  dinner  when  our  captain  called  us  to- 
gether in  a  close  bunch,  and  told  us  that  the  regi- 
mental commander  had  been  dissatisfied  with  the 
deployments  of  the  other  companies,  and  was 
having  them  out  to  drill;  but  that  our  work  had 
been  satisfactory,  and  that  in  consideration  of 
our  hard  service  on  recent  days,  we  were  to  be 
excused.  You  see  we  have  worked  hard  on  Fri- 
day (digging  and  defending  trenches)  Saturday 
(when  our  skirmish  work  in  the  mud  and  wet  was 
the  severest,  he  said,  that  a  company  on  the  hike 
has  yet  had)  and  today,  when  we  started  first 
and  finished  last.  So  I  imagine  that  if  it  was 
proposed  to  include  us  in  this  afternoon's  drill  the 
captain  fought  hard  to  have  us  excused.  I  hope 
it's  also  true  that  our  skirmish  work  is  good. 
We  cheered  the  announcement  and  enjoyed  our 
leisure;  and  now  the  other  companies  are  express- 

261 


262  AT  PLATTSBURG 

ing  their  delight  at  being  released  from  their  two 
hours'  work  in  a  stubble  field. 

Last  night,  after  I  had  mailed  my  letters,  I 
stood  about  and  watched  the  camp  with  its  al- 
ways varied  pictiu*esqueness — the  many  fires,  the 
drifting  smoke  Ht  up  by  flames,  the  groups  here 
and  there,  the  undertones  of  talk,  the  singing. 
The  buzzard  song  has  instantly  become  popular, 
and  the  lieutenant's  platoon  have  a  chant  of 
praise  to  him — ^I  don't  know  all  the  words  as  yet. 

"He's  on  the  job,  boys, 
To  find  some  nice  wet  moss  to  lie  on, 
For  today  we  march 
Thro'  (dum  ti  dum)  to  Ellenbiu*g, 
Dum,  dum,  ti  dum  dum  (here  memory  fails) 
Prepare  to  rush, 
Thro'  mud  and  slush, 
God  help  the  man  that  tries  to  shirk !" 

Besides  these  there  have  come  to  us  from  other 
companies,  and  indeed  from  earlier  camps,  other 
ditties,  not  vicious  but  unquotable,  horribly 
amusing  men's  songs. 

I  gave  up  watching  at  last,  and  made  my  bed, 
which  was  not  so  easy  as  usual,  since  my  poncho, 
being  old,  has  taken  to  stiffening  in  its  folds  after 
wetting,  and  when  I  shook  it  out,  just  plain 
cracked.  Besides,  its  intimate  acquaintance  with 
barb-wire  has  resulted  in  various  tears,  notably 
a  long  slit  and  some  "barn-doors."  So  seeing  its 
usefulness  departing,  I  chiefly  made  use  of  my 


AT  PLATTSBURG  263 

blankets  and  overcoat,  in  which  latter  I  slept,  and 
found  myself  perfectly  warm. 

Today  we  were  up  earliest,  packed  in  a  hurry 
(which  never,  however,  allows  leaving  the  ground 
imtidy)  and  were  off  as  an  advance  flank  guard 
to  protect  the  march  of  the  baggage  train  and  main 
body  on  the  straight  road  here,  we  going  on  a 
parallel  liiie  over  whatever  country  we  found. 
We  marched  out  of  camp,  went  a  mile  to  the  west, 
and  then  turned  south — ^and  a  Httle  ripple  of  joy 
went  through  the  company.  For  it  was  our  first 
step  toward  Plattsbiurg  and  home.  The  men  are 
all  looking  forward  to  the  breaking  up  of  camp — 
not  that  they  are  feeling  any  hardship,  but  that 
they  are  anticipating  the  set  end  of  things,  and 
thinking  of  home  life  again. 

Today's  work  will  not  make  an  interesting 
story.  We  followed  our  south  road  till  it  petered 
out,  passed  through  pretty  glades  and  around 
attractive  knolls,  and  finally  cHmbed  a  steep 
ascent  to  where,  by  a  schoolhouse  at  a  corner,  we 
rested  for  a  while.  A  platoon  was  sent  north 
against  a  squad  of  cavalry;  the  rest  went  on, 
deployed  here,  deployed  there,  sent  out  squads 
and  recalled  them,  then  lay  low  in  ditches  and 
watched  the  movements  of  some  of  the  enemy 
(horsemen  and  a  machine  gun)  cautiously  coming 
forward  along  a  cross-road  against  the  comer  to- 
ward which  we  were  heading,  and  which  we  knew 
to  be  held  in  strength  by  our  first  platoon.  They 
consulted,  came  on  within  range,  and  then  sent 


264  AT  PLATTSBURG 

out  a  man  to  reconnoitre.  Reaching  the  corner, 
he  wheeled  and  dashed  back,  waving  his  hat  and 
shouting.  A  burst  of  fire  from  the  corner  pursued 
him;  and  our  Squad  Seven,  crazy  to  do  something, 
let  off  a  couple  of  clips  at  the  men  on  the  ma- 
chine gun,  who  were  frantically  trying  to  turn  it 
about.  The  cavalry  got  away,  all  but  their  mes- 
senger, who  was  summoned  back.  As  for  the 
machine  gun,  it  would  not  reconcile  itself  to  cap- 
ture till,  as  the  captain  said,  an  umpire  went  out 
and  picked  it  by  hand. 

We  were  given  another  rest,  this  time  by  an 
odd-looking  building  which  Corder  guessed  was  a 
creamery.  The  fact  being  established,  our  boys 
were  greatly  excited,  and  some  filled  their  can- 
teens at  wholesale  prices — surreptitiously,  for  the 
thing  was  quite  as  wrong  though  not  so  reckless 
as  another  performance  I  have  seen,  the  filling 
of  canteens  at  wells.  If  we  escape  typhoid  from 
such  water  it  will  be  because  of  the  inoculation. 

Ordered  on  again,  our  platoon  was  detached 
and  sent  across  country  to  come  upon  the  flank  or 
rear  of  any  cavalry  that  might  be  lurking  for  us. 
We  sent  out  a  squad  and  lost  it;  then  the  three 
remaining  squads  went  on  and  on  and  on,  and 
grumblings  became  louder  and  louder  as  the  men 
began  to  suspect  that  the  leader  did  not  know 
where  he  was  going,  nor  what  he  was  trying  to  do. 
Good  David,  mindful  of  our  pact,  tried  in  vain  to 
cheer  the  boys  up;  but  no,  they  would  grumble, 
and  (as  inexorably  follows)  made  their  work  the 


AT  PLATTSBURG  265 

harder.  It  was  a  long  three  miles  over  stiff  coun- 
try, with  a  fence,  usually  barb  wire,  every  hun- 
dred yards — ^and  bogs!  "What  made  me  sore," 
says  Knudsen  at  my  side  at  this  moment,  "was 
that  first  swamp  we  came  -  to.  It  was  perfectly 
visible,  with  a  good  dry  meadow  on  either  side  to 
travel  in — ^but  Jones  had  to  bring  us  through  it." 
Fence,  bog,  fence,  thicket,  fence,  small  pasture 
with  an  inquisitive  bull  (we  went  across  smartly !) 
fence,  rough  cHmb  over  rocks:  such  was  the  order 
of  OUT  going,  till  at  last  we  heard  the  captain's 
distant  whistle,  and  found  the  remainder  of  the 
company  resting  comfortably  by  the  roadside 
waiting  for  us.  But  there  was  no  soft  place  for 
the  second  platoon,  for  on  we  went  at  once,  two 
miles  more  to  camp,  where  the  other  companies 
had  long  since  pitched  their  tents,  had  fed  them- 
selves, and  now  were  streaming  out  toward  town 
to  fill  in  the  chinks  in  their  stomachs.  The  best 
ice  cream,  I  am  told,  is  at  the  millinery  store. 

For  the  first  time  since  Friday  I  was  able  to- 
day to  get  a  swim — or  rather  a  dip  in  an  ice-cold 
stream,  below  a  broken  dam.  Picturesque,  so 
many  men's  naked  bodies,  imdressing,  bathing, 
dressing,  with  the  rushing  stream,  the  rocky 
bank,  the  overhanging  trees.  Then  I  cut  my  toe 
and  had  to  have  it  dressed  at  the  doctor's  tent, 
where  I  had  a  glimpse  at  another  side  of  camp 
life. 

I  met  one  of  our  fellows  coming  away  grumbling. 
"My  bhsters  were  dressed  by  an  artilleryman  who 


266  AT  PLATTSBURG 

disgusted  me  with  his  profanity,  and  who  put  the 
plaster  on  the  wrong  spot."  But  I  was  tended, 
having  a  more  important  woimd,  by  one  of  the 
doctors.  And  after  my  experience  I  can  declare 
that  all  doctors  are  divided  into  three  kinds. 

One  was  a  volunteer,  one  of  our  own  company, 
by  the  way,  whose  feet  having  given  out  was 
transferred  to  the  medical  corps,  and  keeps  an 
especially  kindly  eye  on  all  H  company  men. 
But  he  being  busy,  I  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
regulars,  and  had  a  chance  to  judge  of  the  opin- 
ion common  among  the  rookies — "they  treat  you 
like  a  horse."  Now  regular  officers  must  be  short 
and  sharp  with  their  men,  and  the  doctors  among 
them  are  taught  to  be  suspicious  by  the  sojering 
they  necessarily  detect.  It  must  be  a  struggle  to 
keep  sweet  the  milk  of  human  kindness. 

The  man  who  dressed  my  foot  had  succeeded 
in  remembering  that  the  majority  of  men  were 
neither  cowards  nor  dishonest.  He  was  consider- 
ate of  me  and  of  the  orderHes  imder  him.  But 
alongside  was  a  scowl.  A  poor  fat  bandsman 
with  a  lame  foot  was  not  excused  from  march- 
ing the  next  day.  The  orderly  who  had  mislaid 
the  iodine  was  scalped.  The  orderly  who  had 
charge  of  the  medicine  chest  was  also  scalped. 
The  man  whose  foot  this  doctor  was  dressing  was 
so  certainly  a  man  of  character  and  a  person  of 
civiHan  consequence  that  he  was  not  scalped  for 
presuming  to  turn  his  ankle;  but  I  felt  the  cer- 
tainty that  imder  actual  campaign  conditions  he 


AT  PLATTSBURG  267 

would  have  fared  no  better  than  the  others.  It 
was  borne  in  upon  me  that  a  gentleman  who  is 
gentlemanly  only  to  gentlemen  is  not  a  gentleman 
at  all. 

Though  I  have  not  spoken  much  of  them,  we 
have  our  daily  conferences  whenever  the  weather 
will  permit.  Today  we  first  had  battalion  con- 
ference, when  Major  Goring  spoke  of  recent 
manoeuvres — and  we  men  were  interested  to  see 
that  even  he  spoke  of  Friday  as  an  extremely 
successful  day,  and  Saturday  as  an  imusuaUy 
hard  one.  Then  supper,  then  bed-making  (which 
is  desirable  before  the  light  goes — ^by  the  way,  I 
am  writing  no  longer  in  the  afternoon  but  the 
evening)  then  regimental  conference,  when  Major 
Downes  spoke  against  time  for  an  hour  (and 
mighty  well,  upon  the  Philippines  and  army  ex- 
periences there)  in  the  hope  that  General  Wood 
would  come,  which  he  didn't.  Now  I  am  writing 
while  sitting  upon  a  firkin  of  apples  that  I  had 
sent  from  our  neighbor  WiUiams,  waiting  for  the 
squad  to  come  and  help  me  eat  them.  Very  bad 
writing  this,  I  know,  by  the  light  of  the  fire,  hold- 
ing the  paper  first  folded,  then  bent,  then  skewed, 
anything  to  stiffen  it  and  catch  the  Hght,  while 
every  moment  I  must  shift  it  as  I  move  my  hand 
along  the  line. 

The  boys  are  gathering  for  a  feed — the  apples, 
some  honey,  bread,  shredded  wheat,  cream  from 
the  local  creamery  (Kjiudsen's  inspiration),  the 
first  such  feast  since  the  hike  began.    We  have 


268  AT  PLATTSBURG 

invited  our  neighbors,  Squad  Nine.     So,  since 
there  is  no  more  to  tell,  I  will  close  this. 

"Pass  up  your  cups,''  says  Clay. 

Love  to  you  from 

Dick. 


Private  Godwin  to  His  Mother 

On  the  road  to  Ledger  Corners. 
Tuesday  the  ^d  October. 

Dear  Mother: — 

I  write  on  my  back  in  the  usual  roadside  ditch, 
our  column  having  halted  after  firing  has  broken 
out  in  our  rear.  My  pack  was  on  wrong  this 
morning,  hanging  too  low,  so  that  the  straps  cut 
me;  I  was  glad  to  stop,  so  as  to  adjust  it.  Usually 
it  is  no  trouble:  in  fact  in  some  of  the  skirmishes 
I  have  not  thought  of  it  at  all  except  to  remark 
how  little  it  cumbered  me. 

But  the  pack  can  be,  I  have  found,  a  detriment 
in  case  of  a  fall.  Yesterday,  going  through  a 
boggy  wood,  with  rocks  and  sUmy  fallen  trees,  I 
slipped  and  plunged  forward.  Without  the  pack 
I  could  have  saved  myself;  but  the  heavy  roll, 
shooting  ahead,  was  just  enough  to  overbalance 
me  and  bring  me  down  among  the  stumps  and 
boulders.  To  protect  my  face  I  twisted  as  I  fell. 
This  brought  the  pack  under  me,  my  head  was 
lower  than  my  hips,  the  pack  wedged  in  a  hole, 
and  I  should  have  had  difficulty  in  rising  had 
not  the  boys  yanked  me  up. 

Our  feed  at  bed  time  was  a  success.  We  were 
warned  of  a  hard  day  to  follow,  the  march  being 
extra  long,  and  the  road  being  so  unsafe  for 
trucks  (on  accoimt  of  weak  culverts)  that  we  must 

269 


270  AT  PLATTSBURG 

carry  our  own  dinners,  which  we  must  eat  cold. 
In  consequence  we  were  given  this  morning  an 
emergency  ration,  consisting  of  a  sHce  of  Bologna 
sausage,  two  pieces  of  dry  bread,  and  two  hard 
boiled  eggs.  These  we  put  in  our  meat  cans,  with 
such  chocolate  as  we  could  get  from  the  buzzards; 
we  are  carrying  them  now,  and  are  wondering  if 
the  cooks  will  get  to  camp  in  time  to  give  us  coffee. 

Behind  me,  after  quiet,  the  fire  has  broken  out 
again.  The  boys  Hsten  critically.  "We  shan't 
have  to  go  back  for  that."  There  is  a  whole 
battalion  behind  us  that  can  stand  off  any  at- 
tack. 

{Later,)  The  hike  today  has  been  steady  plod- 
ding, halting  at  the  regular  intervals,  also  at  times 
of  attack  from  the  rear.  At  first  the  boys  sang  a 
good  deal,  new  songs  and  old.  But  the  last  two 
stretches,  though  we  have  had  continual  jokes 
and  laughter,  have  been  a  persistent  grind.  For 
the  first  time  we  have  had  cHmbing,  pretty  steady 
from  our  start  to  the  height  of  land,  a  rise  of  502 
feet,  after  which  we  stumbled  down  a  very  stony 
track  till  we  reached  a  better  road  at  Halfway 
House,  an  uninviting  structure  between  two  un- 
known terminals.  We  had  one  fine  look-off  at 
the  highest  point,  over  a  gently  descending  slope 
of  miles  to  a  strip  of  Champlain,  and  beyond, 
floating  above  the  haze,  the  Green  Mountains  of 
Vermont.  Now  we  are  resting  again,  the  boys 
talking,  smoking,  studying  the  map,  and  singing 
quietly. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  271 


In  camp  at  Ledger  Corners. 
At  the  mouth  of  my  kennel. 

The  day's  hike,  ten  or  twelve  miles,  is  finished, 
a  very  dreary  performance  indeed.  The  way  was 
very  duU;  and  though  the  boys  were  at  first  in- 
clined to  say  they  were  glad  not  to  be  on  skirmish 
duty,  we  having  worked  so  hard  of  late,  before 
the  trudge  was  over  we  were  all  tired  of  the 
monotony,  and  would  have  been  glad  of  a  brush. 
And  we  got  just  as  tired  and  hungry  as  if  we  had 
had  an  extra  four  or  five  miles  of  cross-country 
work.  At  last  after  passing  through  a  district 
whose  only  beauties  were  its  few  high  views  and 
the  gorgeous  colors  of  its  maples,  and  whose  gen- 
eral sparseness  of  people,  unattractive  fields,  and 
ill-kept  houses  (chiefly  of  plastered  logs)  became 
after  a  while  depressing,  we  came  to  almost  the 
only  smooth  field  that  we  had  seen.  The  first  of 
the  trucks,  after  its  journey  of  thirty-six  miles, 
was  just  arriving;  nevertheless  it  was  not  long 
after  we  had  pitched  camp  that  coffee  was  ready, 
with  which  we  wetted  our  dry  snack.  You  should 
watch  us  veterans  pitch  camp.  Every  tent  is 
erected  in  fifteen  minutes  at  most,  less  if  rain  is 
threatening.  I  always  hurry  off  early  for  the  hay, 
leaving  Bann  to  finish  pegging  down,  and  to  ditch 
if  necessary.  My  haste  saves  delay;  today  I  got 
into  the  hay-bam  just  before  a  quartermaster 
came  and  formed  a  line.  I  always  lug  away  a 
full  poncho;  though  the  hay  almost  fills  the  tent 


272  AT  PLATTSBURG 

at  first  it  soon  packs  down,  and  I  want  this  amount 
to  make  sleep  easy,  and  to  make  sure  that  even 
if  rain  gets  imder  the  tent,  we  shall  sleep  on  an 
island  in  comfort.  Tonight  the  weather  prom- 
ises to  be  fine,  so  that  Bann  did  no  digging  ex- 
cept for  sods  to  lay  on  the  edges  of  the  tent  to 
keep  out  the  wind. 

Afternoons  are  always  pretty  full.  We  are 
said  to  have  our  time  to  ourselves — yes,  and  if 
conference  on  the  manoeuvres  is  omitted  (as 
today,  when  our  battalion  had  no  manoeuvres  to 
confer  about),  it  really  amoimts  to  something. 
And  I  have  gained  time  by  toughening  myself, 
the  rest  I  used  to  crave  at  Plattsburg  and  on  the 
range  no  longer  being  necessary.  But  I  love  to 
linger  over  the  luxury  of  the  swim — or  rather  the 
bath — ^if  there  is  an  accessible  stream.  There  was 
none  at  Cherubusco,  and  to  tell  the  truth  I  didn't 
miss  it,  so  weary  was  I,  and  the  weather  so  cold. 
But  yesterday  and  today  I  enjoyed  the  chance  to 
soap  myself  and  souse.  Next  if  there  is  mail  (and 
I  can  always  depend  on  my  letter  from  you)  I 
like  to  enjoy  it  and  skim  the  newspaper.  After 
that  the  rifle  should  be  cleaned,  even  on  such  a 
day  as  this  when  I  did  not  fire  a  shot,  for  the 
barrel  has  a  habit  of  "sweating"  which  requires 
it  to  be  cleaned  out  and  oiled.  And  then  him- 
dreds  of  us  fall  to  on  our  letters  home,  always  in 
a  public  place,  with  talk  going  on  all  about,  and 
with  men  going  by  who  pause  and  interrupt. 

For  in  our  company,  and  I  doubt  not  in  all  the 


AT  PLATTSBURG  273 

others,  there  is  the  friendliest  feeling  for  each 
other,  and  for  each  other's  fortimes.  We  know 
that  So-and-so  has  had  a  sprain,  that  such  a  man 
is  in  trouble  with  his  digestion,  that  Hill  has  a 
fallen  arch,  and  that  Homans  has  terribly  blistered 
his  feet  and  is  these  days  riding  on  the  trucks, 
poor  devil.  Those  who  have  met  at  the  hospital 
tent  have  a  common  interest.  Thus  getting  ac- 
quainted, we  hail  each  other  when  we  meet  in  the 
street,  stop  at  each  other's  fires,  compare  notes, 
congratulate  on  recovery,  sympathize.  There  are, 
too,  the  recognized  jokers,  men  who  are  always 
looking  out  for  a  chance  to  make  a  hit.  And 
finally  camp  news  is  handed  along  from  man  to 
man. 

With  all  this  going  on,  afternoon  and  evening, 
a  fellow  is  continually  interested  and,  you  may 
say,  busy.  There  is  good  feeling  almost  every- 
where, though  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  the 
degree  of  it  varies. 

You  see  this  particularly  in  the  solidarity  of 
squads.  There  is  somewhere  in  the  regiment,  I 
am  told,  a  squad  that  does  nothing  but  squabble; 
the  men  have  nearly  all  in  turn  been  corporal, 
and  no  one  will  obey.  But  mostly  there  is  bound 
to  spring  up  a  feeling  of  imity,  as  the  eight  men 
sleep  and  march  and  manoeuvre  together.  This 
will  differ  according  to  the  men's  natural  socia- 
bility or  feeling  of  loyalty,  with  perhaps  jealousy 
in  one  man,  or  officiousness  in  another.  Oc- 
casionally you  will  find  a  squad  whose  masterful 


274  AT  PLATTSBURG 

corporal  interferes  too  much  with  his  men's  per- 
sonal freedom — and  that  has  to  be  adjusted  by  a 
Httle  plain  language.  Sometimes  a  fellow  is  dis- 
contented with  his  squad;  Randall,  for  example, 
doesn't  feel  himself  appreciated  by  his  mates,  and 
seeks  chums  elsewhere.  But  none  of  his  new  in- 
timates stay  by  him  very  long. 

Our  squad  holds  together  very  well;  we  eat  to- 
gether when  our  tents  are  not  too  long  a  journey 
from  the  mess  tent,  a  matter  of  consequence  with 
a  brimming  dish,  and  in  general  we  have  a  con- 
stant eye  out  for  each  other's  movements.  But 
more  than  this,  we  are  taking  Squad  Nine  into  a 
little  confederation;  they  are  men  of  the  most 
diverse  sorts  but  very  much  of  a  unit,  and  all 
bright,  witty,  and  ready  to  cooperate.  Indeed, 
having  a  system  of  fetching  each  other's  hay  and 
filling  each  other's  canteens,  they  have  a  better 
squad  organization  than  we.  It  has  pleased  me 
very  much  that  our  banter  between  the  tents  at 
Plattsburg  has  turned  into  the  friendHest  of  feel- 
ing, so  that  we  naturally  seek  each  other  out. 
We  gave  them  a  spread  last  night,  and  today  are 
invited  to  another  in  return. 

The  column  on  the  march  is  an  amusing  thing. 
Taken  in  little,  I  have  got  very  famiHar  with  the 
backs  and  legs  of  the  four  in  front,  Bann's  springy 
tread.  Clay's  sturdy  tramp,  the  little  stiffness  that 
shows  in  ancient  Corder's  gait,  and  the  untiring 
litheness  of  Knudsen's  swing.  Beside  me  Rear- 
don  trudges  silently,  his  hat  always  flopped  a 


AT  PLATTSBURG  275 

Kttle  over  his  eyes,  his  head  up.  Sometimes  I 
make  him  talk,  and  have  pried  out  of  him  much 
of  his  family  history.  Beyond  him  Pickle  goes  on 
springs,  cracking  jokes  like  a  Httle  internal  com- 
bustion engine.  And  David,  now  very  tanned 
and  wide  awake,  finishes  our  four.  Without  look- 
ing, we  know  the  voice  of  each  of  our  neighbors 
behind  or  in  front,  even  so  far  as  the  witless 
stutterer  some  squads  ahead,  or  the  flat-voiced 
constant  querist  somewhere  behind.  But  now 
when  he  raises  his  song  his  neighbors  shut  him 
up. 

Our  company  in  column  always  remembers 
who  commands  it.  The  first  song  we  begin  to 
sing,  and  the  last  we  give  up,  is  the  Buzzard  song, 
to  show  our  loyalty.  Incidentally  the  song  has 
improved  discipline,  for  yesterday  when  a  buz- 
zard approached  us  with  the  inevitable  chocolate, 
tobacco,  and  matches,  we  passed  him  along  down 
the  line  with  the  chorus,  "Poor  old  buzzard,  get 
away  out  of  here,"  though,  to  be  frank,  the  word- 
ing is  somewhat  stronger.  No  buzzard  will  ever 
get  anything  out  of  our  company  again  when  on 
the  road,  even  though  we  may  be  at  rest.  Other 
little  touches  show  our  memory  of  the  captain's 
injunctions.  We  have  a  sergeant  who  in  former 
camps  was  demoralized  by  drilling  imder  other 
officers,  and  who  at  times  crosses  his  gun  upon 
his  shoulders  as  he  marches.  Then  the  whole 
column  shouts  at  him  till  he  takes  it  down.  And 
when  some  other  company  passes  us,  with  men 


276  AT  PLATTSBURG 

carrying  the  guns  by  the  straps,  we  shout: 
"Porter!    Suit-case  men !    Red-caps!" 

It  is  jfine  to  march  in  a  column  of  men  and 
know  the  current  of  energy  that  flows  along  it. 
However  many  miles  you  have  marched,  however 
tired  your  feet  and  back  and  arms  may  be,  in  the 
knowledge  that  you  are  one  of  a  disciplined  regi- 
ment there  is  something  that  strengthens  you  and 
keeps  you  going.  For  in  one  sense  Route  Step, 
when  you  may  go  as  you  please,  is  a  fiction;  we 
must  still  keep  so  close  together  that  to  preserve 
the  step  and  the  cadence  is  almost  a  necessity, 
and  though  we  carry  our  pieces  at  ease,  we  still 
swing  along  together.  And  as  you  look  along 
rising  ground,  and  see  the  hundreds  of  men  ahead, 
and  know  there  are  as  many  more  behind,  all 
going,  going,  the  knowledge  that  you  are  a  part 
of  that  machine,  and  that  to  fall  out  would  be  to 
mar  it  and  to  cut  yourself  off  from  it,  keeps  you 
still  moving  on  your  weary  pins. 

You  see  I  am  speaking  of  general  things,  be- 
cause of  particular  events  today  there  is  nothing 
to  describe.  The  bathing  today  was  most  shock- 
ingly public,  on  both  sides  of  the  bridge  in  this 
apology  for  a  town.  Whenever  wheels  were  heard, 
men  shouted  "Cover!"  and  those  in  the  water 
(which  was  very  shallow)  would  try  to  get  imder. 
But  I  think  the  women  folk  had  been  warned  to 
keep  away,  since  none  of  them  crossed,  at  least 
while  I  was  there. 

(Evening,)  Tonight  we  have  had  a  talk  from 
General  Wood.    I  have  not  reported  our  confer- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  277 

ences  to  you,  they  are  so  incidental,  and  indeed  so 
theoretical  at  times.  But  we  have  had  a  captain 
from  the  border  tell  us  of  the  coming  of  the  green 
militia  there  at  the  mobilizing  of  the  national 
guard,  of  their  first  helplessness  under  service  con- 
ditions, full  as  every  company  was  of  new  men. 
The  work  of  getting  this  half-  or  quarter-trained 
mass  ready  for  fighting  was  enormously  more 
difficult  than  our  Plattsbiu*g  work;  and  the  fact 
that  these  regiments,  if  sent  into  the  field  at  first, 
would  have  been  helpless  against  the  Mexicans, 
needs  no  explanation  (disagreeable  as  the  idea  is) 
to  every  recruit  here.  We  have  at  another  con- 
ference been  shown  the  detail  work  of  supplying 
our  camps  both  at  the  training  ground  and  on 
the  hike,  and  the  immense  importance  of  the 
work  of  the  obscure  quartermaster's  department. 
Talk  after  talk  has  impressed  us  with  the  amoxmt 
of  work  needed  to  drill,  to  equip,  to  work  into 
fighting  shape,  even  a  few  thousand  men;  and 
there  is  no  Plattsburg  rookie  who  does  not  fully 
imderstand,  and  will  not  in  detail  explain  to  his 
neighbors  when  he  goes  home,  the  absurdity  of 
Mr.  Bryan's  army  of  a  miUion  men  which  is  to 
spring  into  being  at  the  call  of  the  President.  It 
would  very  much  relieve  us  to  be  assured  that 
the  government  is  ready  to  equip  them  even  in 
the  least  particular. 

General  Wood  has  talked  to  us  from  time  to 
time.  Back  at  the  training  camp  he  told  us  some- 
what of  our  mihtary  history.  You  know  our 
text-books  feed  us  up  on  our  military  glories; 


278  AT  PLATTSBURG 

but  looked  at  through  the  cold  eyes  of  the  statis- 
tician we  know  now  that  these  were  achieved  at 
the  cost  of  enormous  and  unnecessary  losses,  all 
from  lack  of  system  and  readiness.  Moreover 
there  are  certain  mihtary  disgraces  which  need 
to  be  called  to  our  attention,  to  make  us  resolve 
that  these  things  shall  not  happen  again.  Con- 
sidering further  that  we  have  never  yet  had  a 
war  with  a  first  class  mihtary  power  (with  two 
at  least  of  whom  we  are  in  controversy  now)  and 
remembering  that  not  only  has  our  national  guard 
proved  a  failure  at  this  crisis,  but  that  the  new 
enHstments  in  the  regular  army  have  not  come 
to  pass,  so  that  it  is  many  thousands  below  its 
paper  strength,  we  are  now  at  the  point  of  asking 
ourselves  what  we  are  to  do  to  meet  the  mihtary 
necessity  which  will  some  day  suddenly  come 
upon  us.  We  beHeve  it  is  coming;  no  soldier  will 
deny  it  or  can  more  than  hope  against  it.  There- 
fore we  must  prepare — ^but  how? 

— ^It  is  time  for  our  spread;  Squad  Nine  has 
come  not  merely  with  camp  delicacies,  but  with 
cakes  and  candies  from  home !  So  I  will  break  off 
this  gloomy  epistle  with,  as  usual,  love  from 

Dick. 

P.  S,  Still  come  the  variations  of  the  story  of 
the  cHp  of  ball  cartridges.  Someone  knows  some- 
body else  who  found  it  among  his  cartridges  one 
morning  and  slipped  it  into  another  man's  belt. 
Thus  the  cHp,  and  the  story,  travels. 


Private  Godwin's  Daily  Letter 

Cadyville,  N.  F.,  Oct.  4,  jgi6. 

Dear  Mother: — 

We  were  up  today  as  usual  at  half  past  five, 
those  who  were  lucky  rising  a  Httle  earher  for 
more  comfortable  dressing.  And  yet,  after  all, 
ten  minutes  is  enough  for  those  few  observances 
which  may  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  our 
toilet.  The  pint  and  a  half  in  the  canteens  al- 
lows us  a  scrub  of  the  teeth,  and  a  rinsing  of  the 
face  and  hands — ^no  more,  especially,  if  we  are 
to  have  anything  to  drink  on  the  day's  march, 
for  the  morning,  with  an  empty  water-butt,  is  no 
time  to  replenish  the  supply.  Pickle,  having  a 
budding  mustache,  carries  a  pocket  mirror]  and 
comb,  and  so  can  arrange  his  hair;  but  the  rest 
are  usually  satisfied  with  a  hasty  smoothing  with 
the  hands — and  since  the  hat  goes  on  at  once  and 
stays  on,  why  not?  Because  of  the  cold,  all 
sleep  in  their  stockings,  which  saves  morning 
time,  besides  preventing  bother  in  the  lacing  of 
the  trousers.  (It  is  at  night  and  at  the  swim  that 
stockings  are  changed.)  Thus  in  the  morning 
only  the  shoes  and  the  leggings  must  go  on;  we 
are  already  in  our  sweaters,  and  so  are  soon  pre- 
pared for  the  first  formation.  The  cartridge-belt 
and  rifle  are  dragged  out  from  the  straw  and  laid 
ready  in  case  they  are  called  for;  then  one  can 
proceed  with  packing  the  squad-bag,  and  with 

279 


28o  AT  PLATTSBURG 

striking  the  tent  and  separating  the  shelter-halves. 
Old  Bann  is  a  wise  one;  he  always  begins  by  se- 
curing his  five  tent-pins,  and  so  leaves  to  me  the 
responsibility  of  rummaging  out  the  remaining 
five,  of  which  one  always  dodges  me  for  a  while. 

The  second  call  soimds,  to  be  followed  by  the 
first  sergeant's  whistle.  "Corporals,  get  your 
men  out!  Belts  and  rifles ! "  There  is  snatching 
up  and  buckling,  then  there  is  scientific  delay  over 
packing,  with  eye  and  ear  to  the  exhortations  of 
sergeants  and  squad  leaders;  but  at  last  even  the 
slowest  are  on  their  way  to  the  head  of  the  street 
to  take  their  places.  The  corporals  are  calling 
the  numbers  of  their  squads,  "Six!"  "Nine!" 
"Twelve!"  and  with  anxious  eyes  are  watching 
for  their  belated  men.  The  line  forms:  there 
is  a  gap  here  for  a  smoking  fire,  and  other  gaps 
that  mean  absentees.  Rear-rank  men  step  for- 
ward to  fill  the  places  of  their  file-leaders,  and  as 
the  assembly  sounds  the  front-rank  men  are  glad 
to  slip,  unobserved,  into  the  vacant  spaces  in  the 
rear.  "  Report ! " — "  First  squad,  present."  "  Sec- 
ond squad,  private  Smith  absent."  Smith,  hurry- 
ing up,  curses  under  his  breath.  "Police  duty 
today,"  he  knows,  and  makes  a  grimace  at  pri- 
vate Brown,  who  has  found  his  place  in  the  fourth 
squad  just  in  time. 

Once  the  reports  are  in,  the  first  sergeant  or- 
ders "Inspection — Harms!"  With  a  rattle  the 
gims  are  tossed  up  and  opened;  with  another 
rattle,  at  the  next  command,  they  are  closed  and 


AT  PLATTSBURG  281 

snapped.  The  sergeant  salutes  the  waiting  Keu- 
tenant,  whose  commonest  proceeding,  now  on  the 
hike,  is  to  warn  us  of  an  early  start.  Then  per- 
haps he  orders  "Stack  arms!"  and  we  grumble. 
A  nuisance  to  have,  in  the  company  street,  a 
line  of  stacks  through  which  we  may  not  pass. 
Then,  dismissed,  we  return  to  our  packing,  al- 
ways with  an  eye  to  the  forming  of  a  line  at  the 
cook  tent.  For  no  one  wants  to  be  late  in  that 
line,  yet  all  wish  to  get  forward  with  the  packing. 
There  is,  on  these  cold  mornings,  another  con- 
sideration: it  is  pleasantest  to  eat  breakfast  in 
sweaters,  which  we  know  must  be  discarded  for 
the  march.  If  the  officers  or  sergeants  come  with 
"  Hurry  up  those  blanket-rolls ! "  off  the  sweaters 
must  come,  and  the  rolls  are  made.  Otherwise, 
at  the  mess-call  utensils  are  snatched  up,  and  the 
men  hurry  to  the  head  of  the  company  street,  to 
form  the  double  line,  and  to  be  glad  of  the  extra 
comfort  that  the  sweaters  give. 

The  meal  disposed  of  and  the  meat-cans  washed 
(or  rather  rinsed)  the  remaining  packing  is  quickly 
finished.  The  rolls  are  made,  the  squad-bags  are 
stuffed  full,  and  both  are  carried  to  the  trucks. 
The  packs  are  made,  and  the  belts,  heavy  with  the 
fresh  ammunition  that  has  just  been  handed  out, 
are  hooked  to  them.  A  swing,  a  boost,  a  hitch 
or  two,  and  our  pappooses,  our  constant  com- 
panions, are  with  us  till  we  make  camp,  seven 
hours  or  more  later.  Then  the  whole  company 
street  is  policed,  and  the  hay  piled  in  big  cocks  on 


282  AT  PLATTSBURG 

which,  in  the  early  sun,  the  men  loll  during  the 
last  few  minutes  before  the  bugle  calls. 

Our  second  battaUon  was  first  in  ranks  this 
morning,  drawn  close  together  to  hear  the  words 
of  the  major.  There  was  to  be,  he  presumed,  a 
rencounter,  or  meeting  engagement;  he  merely 
had  sealed  orders,  to  be  opened  at  a  certain  spot 
on  the  route.  Our  battaHon  was  to  start  first; 
he  advised  all  officers  to  study  the  terrain  as  we 
passed  along.  And  then  we  were  off,  while  the 
first  battaHon  was  decorating  its  hats  with  white, 
and  jeering  at  us  as  future  enemies. 

The  trucks  were  a  mile  ahead  of  us;  we  saw  the 
dotted  line  of  their  khaki  tops  marking  the  road 
that  led  out  of  the  high  basin  in  which  lay  the 
camp.  As  we  too  cHmbed  the  steady  slope  to  the 
southeast  we  were  willing  to  leave  the  dreariness 
of  its  imkept  farms  and  get  among  the  woods. 
Lyon  Mountain,  on  the  west,  slowly  drew  its 
colored  bulk  behind  the  shoulder  of  a  nearer  hill 
while  we  came  closer  and  closer  among  the  maples. 
The  shallow  notch  over  which  we  passed  was  high 
and  open;  nothing  overhimg  us,  but  the  tawny 
tapestry  of  the  woods  ran  up  gentle  slopes  to  the 
right  and  left,  and  the  few  evidences  of  farming, 
save  for  the  all-present  wire  fences,  faded  quite 
away.  The  slope  grew  stiffer,  but  there  was  no 
slackening  of  pace.  Heads  bent  low,  chests  be- 
gan to  labor,  and  the  sweat  rolled  down.  A  wel- 
come rest  reheved  us;  then  up  we  started  and 
went  on  again,  at  each  change  of  grade  looking 


AT  PLATTSBURG  283 

for  the  downward  turn,  and  each  time  disap- 
pointed till — ah,  there  was  a  comer,  and  on  the 
slope  beyond  we  saw  the  column  descending  amid 
dust.  Then  we  too  turned  the  comer,  and  faced 
the  view. 

It  was  not  wide,  for  the  woods  by  the  roadside 
(brilliant  in  the  sim  on  the  right,  subdued  in  the 
shade  on  the  left)  limited  it  to  a  V.  Below  was 
the  valley,  and  beyond  and  above  it,  piling  ridge 
on  ridge,  rose  the  hills,  climbing  to  the  shaded 
blue  peak  that  loomed  in  the  very  middle.  It 
was  a  picture,  striking  and  complete. 

In  vain  I  looked  for  the  lake,  which  in  all  our 
earlier  landscapes  showed  between  us  and  the 
hills.  Then  a  reference  to  the  sun  showed  that  I 
was  still  looking  in  a  southerly  direction.  Further, 
this  great  hill,  so  high  and  clear,  was  both  taller 
and  nearer  than  the  Green  Mountains  could  be. 
Someone  behind  me  said  "  Whiteface,"  and  I  knew 
that  I  was  looking  straight  toward  the  heart  of  the 
Adirondacks. 

Again  we  made  a  tum,  and  the  view  broadened 
out.  To  the  east  the  whole  landscape  sloped  to- 
ward the  Sim,  against  whose  rays  the  brilliance 
of  the  woods  faded,  though  still  amid  the  green 
one  could  see,  to  north  or  to  south,  the  yellow, 
the  orange,  or  the  dotted  scarlet  of  the  flaming 
maples.  The  easterly  view  was  less  distinct;  in 
the  distant  blue  the  hills  flattened  to  a  fairly  low 
horizon. 

But  while,  still  marching,  I  idly  gazed,  my  eye 


284  AT  PLATTSBURG 

was  caught  by  an  odd  trick  of  the  sun  which,  now 
at  nine  o'clock  well  on  its  upward  way,  yet  seemed 
to  illuminate  the  bottom  of  a  cloud  that  hung 
near  the  sky  line.  It  was  a  simset  effect  impossi- 
ble by  day,  but  there  was  the  distinctly  gleaming 
band.  And  then  I  knew — Champlain!  It  was 
the  lake,  turning  faintly  silver  further  north  or 
further  south.  What  I  had  thought  to  be  a  cloud 
was  distant  haze.  And  above  it  himg,  at  first 
imnoticed,  the  faint  blue  silhouettes  of  Mansfield 
and  its  neighbor  peaks. 

As  we  marched  down  the  slope  my  neighbors, 
mindful  of  what  was  to  come,  said  "  Gee !  Sup- 
pose we  are  to  climb  up  this  again?"  But  ap- 
prehension was  soon  lost  in  the  interest  of  the 
town  we  now  entered,  whose  great  buildings  (in 
which  each  squad  threatened  to  leave  its  most 
obstreperous  member)  had  been  visible  for  some 
distance.  Dannemora  seems  to  be  a  town  whose 
prosperity,  in  this  out  of  the  way  place,  depends 
solely  upon  the  great  prison  that  stands  in  its 
midst.  We  marched  along  beneath  the  huge 
wall  that  forms  one  side  of  the  main  street;  it 
rose  in  places  fifteen  feet  above  our  heads.  Dust ! 
dust!  A  school  was  let  out;  its  scholars  came 
streaming  uphill  to  watch  us,  and  to  tag  along 
beside  us  even  after  we  had  turned  away  from 
the  great  hospital  of  the  prison,  and  were  once 
more  amid  farms.  Other  school  children  were 
waiting  for  us  along  the  road.  We  saw  very  lit- 
tle of  the  buzzard  in  this  population;  they  handed 


AT  PLATTSBURG  285 

or  threw  us  apples,  and  the  boys  even  undertook 
to  fill  canteens — the  same  old  trick  which  the 
officers  failed  to  detect. 

Still  we  tramped  on  amid  the  dust  which  rose 
aroimd  us;  if  Saturday's  was  the  wet  hike,  this  was 
the  dusty  one.  As  we  neared  a  crossroad  we  were 
given  the  command  "Attention!"  So  we  came 
to  the  right  shoulder  and  straightened  our  ranks, 
that  we  might  look  better  as  we  passed  the  Gen- 
eral. Another  quarter  mile  (we  were  an  hour 
beyond  Dannemora  now)  and  the  familiar  motor- 
cyclist, our  messenger  in  so  many  skirmishes, 
darted  by  us  to  reach  the  captain.  We  gnmted. 
And  then  "Squads  left — march,  company — ^halt !" 
We  found  ourselves  facing  the  wall  of  bushes. 
"Prepare  to  load!"  Who,  we  wondered,  would 
accidentally  fire  now?  Ah,  the  distant  pop  was 
from  the  next  company,  and  we  heard  its  men 
angrily  jeering  their  clumsy  mate. 

Squads-left  again,  and  now  we  were  starting 
back  on  the  way  that  we  had  come.  Uphill  of 
course,  but  we  feared  that  worse  was  to  follow, 
as  we  remembered  the  ridge  that  we  passed  some 
little  distance  back,  and  recalled  the  advantages 
it  offered  for  defence.  To  be  sure,  J  Company 
was  now  nearest  it  and  should  secure  it,  if  the  en- 
emy were  not  too  close.  But  a  burst  of  shooting, 
not  very  far  away,  apprised  us  that  they  were 
already  at  hand.  And  then  came  the  expected 
order,  "  Double  time ! " 

The  pace  in  double  time,  say  the  regulations, 


286  AT  PLATTSBURG 

is  thirty-six  inches  long;  the  cadence  is  at  the 
rate  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  steps  a  minute. 
It  is  not  a  run.  I  have  heard  the  captain  call 
back  a  Heutenant  and  his  platoon:  "I  didn't  say 
Run;  I  said  Double  time!" — "An  easy  nm," 
says  the  little  blue  book.  An  easy  run!  With 
eighteen  pounds  on  the  back,  and  eight  around  the 
waist,  and  another  nine  in  the  hand — ^an  easy 
run !  Oh,  in  that  dust,  and  up  that  slope,  it  was 
pound,  pound,  pound,  till  my  heart  thumped  like 
the  engine  of  a  Httle  Ford  at  high  gear  on  a  stiff 
grade,  and  my  knees  (how  well  the  ancients  knew 
the  importance  of  those  joints !)  were  like  lead. 
The  breath  was  failing,  failing — till  at  last  in  a 
burst  of  reHef  I  got  my  second  wind.  But  poor 
Corder!  Three  times,  as  I  watched  him  labor- 
ing in  front  of  me,  he  flagged.  Three  times  he 
visibly  mustered  his  powers  and  pounded  on. 
The  fourth  time  he  was  spent.  He  had  already 
stepped  out  of  the  column,  to  let  us  pass  him, 
when  I  heard  the  welcome  whistle.  "Halt!" 
Corder  had  strength  to  take  his  place  again,  we 
were  hustled  into  the  ditch  for  cover,  and  I  found 
a  grateful  position  on  the  groimd.  There  was  no 
talk;  everyone  was  too  busy  with  a  shortness  of 
breath. 

The  firing  in  our  front  was  now  more  systematic, 
and  was  spreading  to  the  left.  It  was  not  long 
before  we  were  ordered  to  the  right  of  the  road, 
and  marching  in  the  ditch,  went  forward.  Then 
double  time  again,  for  a  short  distance,  and  the 


AT  PLATTSBURG  287 

line  swung  out  into  the  road  as  it  turned  to  the 
right  into  a  field.  Suddenly  there  was  the  major, 
ordering  us  back  into  the  ditch,  and  his  eye  met 
mine  in  the  midst  of  one  of  his  remonstrances. 
"The  road  is  always  imsafe !"  Look  to  yourself, 
major,  I  thought,  as  obediently  I  ducked  aside  and 
left  him  in  the  position  of  danger.  A  ploughed 
field  brought  us  to  a  walk;  we  cHmbed  a  stiff  as- 
cent, then  found  ourselves  facing  a  nasty  bit  of 
thick  wood,  through  which  we  were  ordered  in 
squad  columns.  Down  a  slope  and  across  a  guUy 
and  up  again;  then  we  went  through  more  open 
coimtry,  but  still  among  trees.  Finally  we  ahgned 
ourselves  behind  the  top  of  a  little  rise,  where  we 
might  comfortably  sit  or  kneel,  having  plenty  of 
cover  behind  logs  or  stones.  The  enemy  that  tried 
to  cross  the  ravine  below  us  would  have  a  surprise. 
There  followed  all  the  confusion  of  an  attack 
in  the  woods.  We  heard  the  enemy  coming,  saw 
at  length  the  white  hat-bands,  opened  fire,  and 
heard  his  heavy  answer.  The  firing  slackened 
on  oiu:  front,  strengthened  on  our  right,  and  our 
platoon  was  again  detached,  to  take  care  of  this 
new  danger.  As  we  waited  at  the  edge  of  a  wood, 
while  the  major  held  us  for  orders,  a  half-grown 
robin,  with  speckled  breast,  nervously  flew  about  us 
as  if  he  wished  to  take  refuge  from  the  noises  that 
distracted  him.  Into  the  underbrush  we  plunged 
again,  were  posted  here,  and  fired;  were  sent  there, 
and  fired  again;  were  hurried  at  the  double  to 
the  flank,  where  I,  coming  behind  the  rest,  was 


288  AT  PLATTSBURG 

held  by  the  captain  and  posted  with  a  rear- 
guard, to  fire  upon  the  enemy  if  he  appeared  across 
a  little  clearing.  It  was  evident  that  the  enemy's 
intentions  could  not  be  guessed  in  advance.  I 
heard  very  rapid  firing  at  my  back,  and  a  burst 
of  cheering.  Then  the  bugle  blew,  and  the 
whistles  sounded  everywhere  through  the  wood. 
Of  the  enemy  I  had  had  few  glimpses,  and  in 
general  I  realized  that  the  confusion  had  been 
extreme. 

As  I  plodded  through  underbrush  to  rejoin  my 
company,  I  came  across  some  white-banded  fel- 
lows who,  with  fixed  bayonets  and  heavy  breath- 
ing, had  evidently  just  been  charging.  Meeting 
presently  a  member  of  our  company,  I  asked  him 
what  had  taken  place  in  this  part  of  the  encounter. 
"Oh,  those  fellows?  You  never  saw  anything  so 
foolish.  They  wandered  out  from  the  woods  and 
fixed  bayonets  in  the  open,  and  we  fired  at  them 
for  five  minutes,  at  a  himdred  and  fifty  yards, 
before  they  began  their  charge.  Of  course  they 
stopped  at  fifty  yards  from  us,  the  rule,  you  know. 
Then  our  Heutenant  asked  theirs  what  his  men 
wore  to  make  them  bullet-proof,  and  we  hoped 
there  would  be  some  back  talk,  for  the  other 
fellow  was  mad.  Pendleton's  tongue  does  cut. 
But  an  umpire  came  and  ruled  them  out,  and  we're 
sure  of  them,  anyway." 

Well,  fighting  in  the  woods  is  "impossible,"  as 
the  major  explained  to  us  later  at  conference. 
Apparently  if  it  must  be,  it  must,  but  there  can 


AT  PLATTSBURG  289 

be  very  little  science  in  it.  At  the  conference  our 
officers  explained  what  had  happened  at  different 
parts  of  our  line,  and  we  were  all  sure  that  we  had 
won.  But  I  noticed  that  the  two  battalions  held 
their  conferences  separately,  and  concluded  that 
the  same  consoling  deduction  was  being  made  at 
the  other  discussion.  Yet  one  idea  must  have 
fixed  itself  in  the  mind  of  every  thinking  man 
there:  we  were  too  green,  and  some  of  our  platoon- 
leaders  were  too  green,  for  effective  work  under 
such  circumstances.  Once  or  twice  on  our  skir- 
mishes we  have  known  that  we  did  well,  and 
after  the  wet  fight  toward  Cherubusco  our  cap- 
tain ventured  the  statement  that  he  could  make 
us  soldiers  in  six  months;  but  today  I  think  he 
would  have  doubled  the  period,  for  it  was  plain 
that  a  veteran  enemy  determined  to  push  his 
lines  forward  would  have  made  short  work  of  us 
in  our  confusion. 

One  thing  I  learned  which  I  shall  remember  to 
my  private  advantage.  The  next  time  I  find  my- 
self firing  from  behind  a  snake  fence  I  shall  not 
crowd  forward  into  one  of  the  comers.  For  that 
brings  one's  ears  even  with  the  muzzles  of  the 
rifles  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  result  is  deaf- 
ening. 

We  had  delighted  the  foot-loose  population  of 
Dannemora,  and  perhaps  had  tantalized  the  poor 
fellows  behind  the  bars;  certainly  we  gave  profit- 
able employment  to  a  score  of  professional  buz- 
zards, who  turned  up  with  their  bags  to  search 


290  AT  PLATTSBURG 

the  woods  where  we  had  been  firing.  As  for  our- 
selves, we  were  soon  on  the  road  again  and  hiking 
in  the  dust,  through  country  which  was  still  too 
deserted  and  unkempt,  with  its  brush  pastures 
and  scattered  log  houses,  for  the  taste  of  a  New 
Englander.  At  dips  and  turns  of  the  road  we 
saw  the  drab  column  winding  before  us;  we  passed 
through  straggling  Cadyville  and  came  at  last  to 
the  unwelcome  macadam.  Our  feet,  used  to  the 
gravel  roads,  foimd  this  unyielding  surface  tire 
us  more  in  a  mile  than  the  other  could  do  in  five. 
I  admit  that  I  was  thoroughly  glad  when  at  last 
we  saw  the  camping  ground,  turned  aside  into 
the  green  grass,  and  pitched  our  tents.  Some 
strap  of  the  pack  having  sHpped,  the  weight  had 
irked  me  more  in  the  last  hour  than  it  had  done 
in  all  the  nine  days  of  the  hike,  and  it  was 
with  great  relief  that  I  swimg  it  from  my  shoul- 
ders. 

Another  proof  of  the  mathematical  formula 
that  Food  Indulgence  equals  Indigestion.  A  gor- 
mandizer from  a  neighboring  squad  has  lately 
been  very  savage  on  accoimt  of  dyspepsia.  Yes- 
terday he  crawled  out  of  bed  with  the  sourest 
expression  and  would  scarcely  respond  to  greet- 
ings, spoke  of  his  stomach,  and  intimated  that 
he  would  ask  to  ride  with  the  baggage.  Yet  he 
marched  with  us,  preserving  so  gloomy  a  silence 
that  Corder,  experimenting,  hailed  him  four  times 
before  he  would  answer.  Then  he  vouchsafed, 
"Every  step  I  take  my  stomach  hiurts  me,"  and 


AT  PLATTSBURG  291 

so  he  stalked  on,  alone  amid  the  jollity  of  the 
marching  column.  We  had  reached  camp,  and 
were  pitching  tents,  when  I  heard  his  bimkie  de- 
manding his  whereabouts.  He  had  disappeared, 
leaving  his  mate  to  do  his  work.  But  before 
long  I  heard  his  voice,  entirely  bright  and  happy, 
say  "Sixty  cents P'  and  there  he  stood  in  the 
midst  of  his  squad,  triumphantly  holding  up  a 
big  mince  pie. 

Today  the  poor  man  was  down  again,  wrapped 
in  gloom.  Agaiu  he  threatened  to  ask  to  ride, 
but  again  he  managed  to  subdue  his  pains.  Said 
I,  "I  suppose  that  pie  is  paying  you  back."  He 
answered,  "You  don't  imderstand.  I  have  to 
buy  those  things  because  they  give  us  so  Httle 
sweet  in  our  diet."  One  has  to  respect  misery, 
however  caused,  and  I  bothered  him  no  more. 

But  David  has  managed  to  subdue  Pickle,  who 
goes  no  longer  to  the  buzzards'  coimters,  and 
though  he  complains  that  the  struggle  is  hard,  he 
admits  that  the  results  pay.  No  more  pains  for 
him.  So  yesterday,  though  at  the  sight  of  the 
crisp  pie  Pickle's  eye  wandered  toward  the  pastry 
booth  outside  the  gate,  when  he  caught  David's 
warning  glance  he  controlled  himself  and  went  on 
with  his  work. 

It  was  here  at  Cadyville  that,  for  the  first  time 
since  leaving  Plattsburg,  we  were  able  to  have  a 
real  swim,  or  rather  (since  the  water  was  like 
ice)  we  found  depth  enough  and  room  enough  for 
all.     Over  a  meadow  and  down  a  bluff  a  path 


292  AT  PLATTSBURG 

led  from  camp  to  a  big  paper  mill  which  stood 
above  a  gorge  of  the  Saranac  River.  The  huge 
pile  of  pulp,  at  which  men  were  picking  and  pry- 
ing with  pickaxe  and  canthook,  ought  to  be  a 
gold  mine  in  these  days  of  high  prices  of  paper. 
Beyond  was  the  dam,  higher  than  a  house  on  its 
clear  side  and  (so  we  were  told)  of  equal  depth 
on  the  other.  Along  the  sides  of  the  big  basin 
there  was  room  for  the  whole  regiment;  and  the 
dive  from  the  dam — ^how  the  men  yelled  when 
their  heads  came  out,  and  how  they  swam  to  get 
ashore  again ! 

Our  last  afternoon  in  camp !  We  felt  that  we 
had  earned  repose  after  a  day's  hard  work — a 
month's  hard  work !  No  more  skirmishing  among 
rocks,  stumps,  and  barbed  wire;  no  more  firing 
of  the  gun,  and  no  more  cleaning  of  it.  As  we 
wished  to  hand  the  guns  back  in  good  condition, 
and  as  most  of  our  patches  and  oil  had  given  out, 
many  of  us  took  the  friendly  offers  of  the  regulars 
(cavalrymen,  bandsmen,  cooks)  who  did  the  best 
business,  working  in  pairs,  that  they  had  yet 
done.  Even  David  relaxed  the  severity  of  his 
self-discipline,  and  handed  out  his  gxm  and  his 
quarter-dollar.  We  loUed,  we  talked  thought- 
fully, we  already  regretted.  Men  exchanged  ad- 
dresses, and  made  appointments  for  the  distant 
future.  I  noticed  that  the  squad  kept  pretty 
close  together,  as  if  knowing  that  soon  it  must 
separate  for  good.  And  now,  rather  seriously, 
the  men  are  getting  ready  for  the  last  Retreat. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  293 

(Evening.) 
We  have  had  our  final  conference,  in  a  little 
amphitheatre  at  one  side  of  the  camp.  As  the 
dusk  fell  the  General  talked  to  us  for  the  last 
time.  He  took  up  the  subject  of  preparedness 
where  he  left  it  yesterday — ^what  are  we  to  do  to 
face  an  emergency,  all  our  present  methods  fail- 
ing, the  emergency,  if  it  comes,  sure  to  be  so 
frightful?  The  old  volunteer  system  has  broken 
down  in  each  of  our  wars — the  Revolutionary, 
the  war  of  181 2,  the  Mexican,  the  Civil.  We  have 
seen  it,  before  our  eyes,  break  down  in  Eng- 
land now.  The  volunteer  system  is  unfair — ^why 
should  one  man  fight  for  another  equally  fit?  It 
is  therefore  undemocratic.  There  is  only  one 
thing  left,  imiversal  training  for  all  yoimg  men, 
and  conscription  in  war  of  all  of  military  age. 

Two  years  ago  I  should  have  recoiled  from  this; 
a  year  ago  I  should  have  shaken  my  head  doubt- 
fully. Today  I  see  with  relief  that  there  is  this 
system  to  save  us  at  need.  It  will  save  us  whether 
there  is  war  or,  as  we  all  hope,  peace.  You  know 
how  I  have  worried  over  our  national  future  with 
this  immense  immigration,  which  yearly  is  less 
assimilated.  The  one  thing  which  will  teach  the 
young  immigrant  American  ideals  and  loyalty  to 
his  new  flag,  is  service  with  all  other  young  men 
for  the  same  great  purpose.  How  can  they  stand 
nightly  at  Retreat  before  the  flag,  hear  the  ''Star 
Spangled  Banner"  played,  salute  the  last  sight  of 
the  colors — how  can  they  do  this  for  but  a  single 


294  AT  PLATTSBURG 

month  and  not  feel  pledged  forever  to  defend  the 
old  flag  ?  I  tell  you,  mother,  when  I  realized  to- 
night that  this  was  our  last  Retreat  something 
gripped  my  throat  and  brought  the  water  to  my 
eyes.  Nor  was  I  the  only  one,  to  judge  from 
what  I  saw  about  me. 

So  when  the  General  asked  us,  as  I  suppose  he 
has  asked  previous  regiments,  to  vote  in  favor  of 
universal  training,  every  man  of  us  shouted  Ay ! 

I  have  asked  some  of  the  squad  if  they  mean 
to  come  again  next  year,  in  case  the  universal 
training  movement  does  not  put  the  training 
camps  out  of  business.  The  answer  is  Yes,  if 
they  can  get  away  again.  Knudsen  means  to  be 
in  the  cavalry;  he  would  have  gone  with  them 
this  year  if  the  regulations  had  not  required  first 
a  period  with  the  infantry.  David  I  have  not 
asked  yet;  but  Corder  wiU  come  back  in  spite  of 
his  years.  "But  I  must  go  with  the  quarter- 
master's department,"  he  said;  and  when  I  asked 
why:  "It's  plain  enough  that  if  I  can't  keep  up  in 
a  charge  I  ought  to  go  where  I  can  be  of  real  use. 
Now  nothing  is  more  important  than  the  Q.  M. 
department,  and  trained  men  are  needed  there  as 
well  as  anywhere  else.  So  that's  my  job  in  the 
next  camp."  It's  plain  he'd  rather  march  in  the 
ranks,  but  he  wiU  change  rather  than  leave  the 
preparedness  movement  to  get  along  without  him. 

During  the  afternoon  there  had  been  piled 
truckload  after  truckload  of  cordwood  at  the  end 
of  the  company  streets.    As  the  conference  broke 


AT  PLATTSBURG  295 

up  someone  lighted  the  heap,  and  soon  the  flames, 
before  the  wind,  were  leaping  forty  feet  in  the 
air.  I  took  your  latest  letter  from  my  pocket 
and  could  clearly  read  it,  though  at  a  hundred 
and  fifty  yards'  distance.  With  shouts  the  crowd 
hastened  to  the  fire,  and  company  after  company, 
each  in  a  long  line  of  men  cheering  for  their  of- 
ficers, took  its  turn  in  a  snake-dance  around  the 
blaze.  As  the  bonfire  dwindled  to  an  immense 
heap  of  glowing  coals,  a  deep  semicircle  gathered, 
sitting  above  it  on  the  hill,  sang  the  songs  of  the 
hike,  and  called  for  solos  from  favorite  singers. 
Chums  walked  up  and  down  near  the  fire,  or  in 
the  further  darkness  lay  in  front  of  tents  and 
talked  plans.  Little  groups  gathered  here  or 
there,  then  restlessly  broke  up  and  shifted  as  men 
sought  acquaintances  for  a  last  word  that  might 
be  impossible  tomorrow.  In  this  shifting  kalei- 
doscope of  men  I  was  glad  to  find  Hale,  cured  of 
his  bronchitis,  and  with  a  tale  of  how  at  the  hos- 
pital they  locked  up  the  men's  clothes,  as  the  only 
way  of  preventing  them  from  escaping  too  soon 
and  rejoining  the  hike.  The  camp  has  been  one 
last  buzz  of  personal  talks,  excited,  pensive,  or 
regretful. 

But  all  is  quieting  now,  and  I  am  sleepy.   Love, 
much  love,  from 

Dick. 


From  Private  Samuel  Pickle  to  His  Brother 

[Without  date,  but  evidently  of  the  same  evening.] 

Dear  Old  Man: — 

You'll  see  me  soon,  perhaps  sooner  than  you 
want.  But  there's  no  help  for  it;  I  shall  be  turned 
out  of  here.  Otherwise  I  should  stay  a  month 
longer.  Never  had  such  a  good  time  in  my  life. 
Oh,  yes,  I  remember  IVe  grumbled  some;  and 
IVe  lost  six  poimds  and  worn  out  two  pairs  of 
shoes.  Never  put  your  shoes  near  the  fire  or  on 
a  stove.  But  for  hardening  of  the  muscles  and 
toughening  of  the  hide,  give  me  Plattsburg.  If 
you  have  any  complaints  to  make  to  me  at  any 
time,  think  well  of  them  beforehand. 

Our  David  that  IVe  told  you  about,  he  turns 
out  to  be  a  true  sport  after  all.  Marches  with  the 
best  of  us,  lives  as  dirty  as  we,  enjoys  it  all.  The 
yoimg  cuss,  IVe  grown  fond  of  him.  What  do 
you  think  his  latest  is?  He's  kept  hammering 
at  me  till  he's  made  me  stop  buying  pies  and 
things!  Good  for  the  pocket-book,  but  par- 
ticularly good  for  my  little  insides.  The  last 
three  days  I  haven't  even  had  a  hankering  for 
something  sweet.  Tell  Nelly  she  needn't  bother 
to  make  chocolate  layer  cake  when  I  come  home, 
like  I  asked  her  to. 

I  swear  I  feel  sorry  to  leave  the  squad.  I've 
scarcely  enjoyed  this  last  night  at  all,  and  though 

296 


AT  PLATTSBURG  297 

I've  made  as  much  noise  as  anybody,  it  was  so 
as  not  to  show  how  bad  I  feel  inside.  I  hate  the 
idea  of  not  seeing  the  captain  again,  and  the  Pro- 
fessor who  bunks  with  me,  and  especially  David 
who  marches  side  of  me.  So  IVe  come  away  from 
all  the  cheering  and  singing  to  write  to  you. 
David  has  asked  me  to  write  to  him.  And  he 
meant  it,  too. 

I'm  not  gloomy  at  coming  home,  you  know. 
Really  I'm  crazy  to  see  you  all  again.  But  if 
once  in  a  while  you  see  me  sitting  kind  of  lone- 
some, you'll  know  why. 

Sam. 


Private  Godwin's  Last  Letter 

Plattshurg,  Oct.  5,  igi6. 

Sitting  alone,  the  last  one  in 

the  old  empty  tent. 

Dear  Mother: — 

It  will  be  hard  for  me  to  hold  myself  to  the 
systematic  narrative  of  this  last  day,  I  do  so 
wish  to  leap  to  the  end  and  to  tell  you  great 
news.    But  I  will  be  firm. 

I  was  up  early  this  morning,  as  I  so  often  am. 
There  is  always  the  distant  cavalry  bugle  to  rouse 
one;  it  blows  first.  Seeing  the  embers  of  our  great 
fire  still  glowing  in  the  dusk,  I  went  there  to  warm 
myself,  and  stood  there  listening  to  the  soimds 
from  the  still  sleepy  camp.  Drowsy  voices,  a 
footfall  here  and  there,  the  crackle  of  fire  and 
the  tinkle  of  pots  at  the  cook  tents.  Even  when 
reveille  had  blown  there  was  still  for  several  mo- 
ments this  sleep-drugged  quiet,  in  the  first  light 
of  dawn. 

Then  there  blared  out  the  music  of  the  full 
brass  band  in  the  opening  crash  of  "Hail,  hail, 
the  gang's  on  deck!" 

Silence  no  more.  Yell  upon  yell,  shout  upon 
shout,  cheer  upon  cheer — and  for  a  space  the 
brass  could  not  be  heard.  The  noise  subsided  to 
singing  and  to  laughter,  the  music  again  held 
sway,  and  the  camp,  springing  to  its  work  in  high 
spirits,  was  beginning  on  its  last  day.     The  last 

298 


AT  PLATTSBURG  299 

packing,  the  last  mess  together;  then  as  the 
companies  stood  in  Hne  for  the  last  march  out, 
the  band  marched  in  and  out  of  the  company 
streets,  playing  to  us  for  the  last  time,  preceded 
by  a  score  of  howling  dervishes,  and  followed  by 
as  many  others,  little  Cupid  (my  second  ghmpse 
of  him)  struggling  along  in  the  rear.  Then  we 
were  beginning  our  march,  cheerful  though  on 
macadam,  and  though  we  had  learned  that  once 
more  we  must  skirmish,  and  so  spoil  the  new 
spotlessness  of  our  rifles.  It  was  a  lovely  morn- 
ing, hazy,  but  through  the  mist  showing  to  the 
right  a  mountain  with  its  lower  sides  glowing 
red.  Not  many  miles  to  go,  and  we  were  glad 
as  we  covered  each  one;  but  at  last  we  heard  be- 
hind us  the  rifles  of  the  cavalry,  and  turned  to 
fight  with  them  a  rear-guard  engagement. 

There  was  an  hour  of  it,  first  and  last.  It  had 
its  individual  features,  notably  the  tale  of  a  squad 
which,  after  marching  for  some  minutes  under 
the  point  blank  fire  of  our  whole  platoon,  tried  to 
outflank  and  attack  us — ^but  an  umpire  attended 
to  them.  Yet  after  all  there  must  be  sameness  to 
my  descriptions,  and  I  will  press  on  to  the  im- 
portant matters. 

We  were  deployed  between  two  highways,  one 
the  main  road  from  Cadyville,  one  running  south 
of  it.  On  account  of  our  coming,  various  motor- 
ists had  set  out  to  meet  us,  and  on  the  northern 
road  were  a  number  of  cars,  full  of  fluttering  fe- 
males.    On  the  southern  road  stood  but  one. 


300  AT  PLATTSBURG 

Now  we  were  supposed  to  be  retiring  before  a 
superior  force;  but  their  disposition  offering  an 
excellent  chance  to  give  them  a  jolt,  our  company- 
was  sent  through  the  southern  fields  against  their 
flank.  There  was  much  standing  stubble  and  high 
weeds  in  the  field  through  which  we  stole  silently 
by  rushes,  Kirby  behind  us  and  urging  us  on, 
using  only  short  blasts  of  his  whistle  as  signals, 
and  the  vibrant  tones  of  his  penetrating  voice. 
We  were  less  than  a  hundred  yards  from  the  en- 
emy and  he  had  not  discovered  us;  every  man  of 
us  kept  low  to  the  ground,  and  never  before  had 
the  company  worked  so  like  a  machine.  Our 
squad  was  on  the  outer  flank,  coming  along  the 
broken  roadside  wall,  when  I  heard  someone  say 
from  the  lone  car  that  we  were  approaching. 
*' Aren't  they  doing  it  magnificently?" 

I  knew  the  voice.  It  was  the  old  colonel, 
standing  up  in  the  car  to  watch  us.  With  him 
were  Vera,  Frances,  and  their  hosts  the  Chap- 
mans. 

The  captain  came  close  up  and  spoke  to  us. 
"Corporal,  has  your  flank  guard  seen  any  out- 
posts?" 

Bann  called  across  the  road  to  Knudsen. 
"What  have  you  seen?"  He  answered  "Noth- 
ing." 

Said  the  captain,  "After  the  next  rush  I  shall 
send  yoiu"  whole  squad  across.  Forward  now  to 
the  line  of  that  row  of  apple  trees  ahead."  And 
at  Bann's  "FoUow  me!"  we  slipped  ahead  not 


AT  PLATTSBURG  301 

merely  to  the  line  of  three  old  trees,  but  also  to 
the  position  of  the  waiting  motor,  which  was  just 
abreast  of  us.  While  the  rest  of  the  company 
sHpped  forward  to  our  line,  I  took  a  satisfying 
look  at  the  girls.  Frances  saw  me,  and  we  smiled. 
Vera  was  absolutely  intent  on  something  behind 
me,  of  course  the  captain.  And  still  not  a  shot 
from  the  flank-guard  in  front,  I  think  a  sleepy 
platoon  under  a  sergeant.  We  chuckled.  But  then 
a  gun  went  off  in  our  line  somewhere  on  the  right. 
We  swore.  Ahead  of  us  the  enemy  broke  into  a 
crackle  of  gunfire,  not  very  heavy. 

In  it,  so  few  were  the  guns  that  were  firing,  I 
clearly  distinguished,  among  the  short  dull  ex- 
plosions of  the  blanks  we  know  so  well,  a  sharp 
and  angry  crack,  followed  by  a  tearing  snap  right 
over  my  head. 

Surprised,  I  yet  recognized  the  noise  of  the 
passage  of  a  bullet.  A  second  time ! — ^and  then, 
familiar  as  I  am  with  the  legend  of  the  clip  of 
ball  cartridges,  I  instantly  knew  it  to  be  true. 
And  again — Crack-snap !  I  heard  the  old  colonel 
crying  to  the  ladies,  "Down!" 

Then  a  long  blast  of  the  captain's  whistle.  I 
knew  he  was  on  his  feet  behind  me,  then  heard 
his  voice  through  the  sputter  of  fire  that  was 
beginning  from  our  own  line.  "Cease  firing!" 
Over  my  shoulder  I  looked  at  him,  a  fine  manly 
figure  in  the  attitude  of  command,  one  hand 
stretched  threateningly  toward  the  line  in  front. 

Then,  as  the  roar  of  our  gims  burst  out  on  the 


302  AT  PLATTSBURG 

right,  his  hat  flew  backward,  I  saw  blood  start 
out  on  his  temple,  and  as  if  an  axe  had  struck 
him,  he  was  down ! 

Quickly  as  I  was  on  my  feet,  someone  was 
quicker.     A  flash  of  white  went  past  me,  and 
there  was  Vera  on  her  knees,  gathering  into  her 
lap  the  head  of  the  fallen  man.    I  heard  her  little  ; 
moaning  cry. 

In  the  few  moments  that  followed  I  stood 
stupidly  helpless.  Our  fire  stopped  suddenly,  as 
the  sergeants  enforced  the  captain's  command. 
The  fire  stopped  in  front.  In  the  Httle  circle  of 
the  branches  of  the  old  tree  we  were  quiet  as — 
yes,  as  the  grave.  Vera,  holding  the  captain's 
head  fiercely  close,  looked  wildly  round  for  help. 
It  was  Frances  who  slipped  by  me  and  with  her 
handkerchief  wiped  away  the  blood  that  stood 
upon  the  temple. 

Oh,  the  relief !  A  long  red  bruise  showed  where 
the  bullet  had  passed. 

And  then  he  opened  his  eyes.  Vera,  looking 
down  on  him,  said  quite  simply,  "Are  you  all 
right,  Allan?" 

Was  he  all  right?  Was  he  in  heaven?  At  the 
look  on  his  face  I  turned  away  with  sudden  tears 
in  my  eyes.  The  rest,  I  know,  also  avoided  that 
solenm  privacy.  As  it  came  about,  mother,  I 
turned  toward  Frances,  and  she,  quite  overcome, 
to  me.  In  such  a  moment  of  emotion,  things 
happen.  As  she  rested  on  my  breast,  we  found 
that  she  belonged  there. 


AT  PLATTSBURG  303 

It  was  the  trampling  of  the  major's  horse  that 
brought  us  to  ourselves.  The  captain,  though 
pale  and  unsteady,  was  on  his  feet.  Bannister 
had  drawn  the  squad  quietly  out  of  the  shade  of 
the  tree.  They  were  looking  at  the  landscape; 
as  for  the  major,  he  was  most  inscrutable,  which 
happens,  you  know,  when  there  is  something  to 
scrutinize.  Said  he  very  innocently:  "The  Ueu- 
tenant  will  take  the  company  in.  Captain  Kirby. 
I  think  we'd  better  ask  your  friends  here  to  bring 
you  to  the  surgeon. — Call  your  men  together,  Mr. 
Pendleton!" 

The  Ueutenant,  pale  as  the  captain,  yet  looking 
very  resolute,  stepped  up  to  him  and  wrenched 
his  hand,  bowed  over  Vera's,  turned  about  and 
blew  his  whistle.  With  his  hand  he  signalled  the 
assembly.  And  good  Bannister,  very  apologetic 
at  interrupting  my  love-making,  said  diffidently 
"  Hem !    Squad  Eight,  faU  in ! " 

But  I  kissed  Frances  before  them  all,  and  helped 
the  captain  into  the  tonneau,  where  they  estab- 
lished him  very  comfortably  between  the  two 
girls.  It  was  not  till  I  had  got  a  smile  from  him 
and  a  proud  look  from  Vera  that  I  went  to  my 
place  in  the  company.  As  I  went  I  saw  out  of  the 
comer  of  my  eye  the  major  and  his  staff  holding 
an  inquest  on  the  platoon  that  had  fired  on  us.  I 
wondered  who  had  had  that  clip  of  ball  cartridges. 

But  they  never  found  out.  We  rested  for  a 
while  at  the  crossroads,  and  I  can  teU  you  I  had  to 
stand   some   banter  from   the   squad   after   the 


304  AT  PLATTSBURG 

motor  had  shot  by  us,  with  Frances's  handker- 
chief fluttering  to  me.  There  was  very  excited 
speculation  as  to  the  penalty  for  shooting  the 
captain;  some  were  for  a  mihtary  execution  when 
we  got  to  camp,  with  burial  on  the  drill  field. 
But  the  major  came  and  told  the  lieutenant,  and 
he  passed  the  word  to  the  company — the  men 
who  fired  on  us  had  used  up  all  their  cartridges 
and  moved  from  the  groimd  before  they  had  been 
accused  of  the  use  of  ball;  no  one  knew,  ap- 
parently not  even  themselves,  who  had  fired  the 
dangerous  shots.  It  might  happen,  you  know, 
that  a  stupid  or  excited  man  might  load  with  ball 
and  not  be  aware  of  it.  As  for  me,  I'm  not 
finding  any  fault,  nor  are  certain  others  that  I 
could  name. 

The  march  in  to  camp?  To  tell  the  truth,  I 
don't  remember  much  of  it,  for  I  was  thinking  a 
good  deal.  One  poor  chap  we  passed  as  he  waited 
for  the  hospital  truck  to  come  along  and  pick 
him  up,  a  disappointed  man  of  fifty,  who  held 
his  head  down  and  would  not  look  at  us  as  we 
tramped  by  in  sympathetic  silence.  As  we  en- 
tered the  residence  quarter  of  Plattsburg,  where 
people  lined  the  streets,  the  whistles  blew  Halt 
and  we  were  waved  to  the  two  sides  of  the  street: 
"Fall  out  to  the  right  and  left."  We  dropped 
down  on  the  grass  all  around  a  rock  where  two 
pretty  girls  had  ensconced  themselves  to  see  us 
pass;  instead,  we  saw  them  run!  Then  on  we 
went  through  the  town,  marching  at  attention, 


AT  PLATTSBURG  305 

with  everybody  out  on  the  streets  to  watch  the 
last  of  the  rookies  of  19 16. 

But  when  we  reached  the  post  there  was  evi- 
dently to  be  a  March  Past,  for  the  band  was 
playing  ahead  of  us,  stationed  opposite  the  gen- 
eral and  his  staff.  We  braced  ourselves  up,  swung 
into  line — ^and  there  was  the  captain  in  front  of 
us !  Very  pale  he  was,  with  a  bit  of  white  band- 
age showing  under  the  hat  that  had  the  hole  in 
it.  But  he  was  firm  on  his  feet.  What  a  yell  for 
a  moment  we  let  out !  Then  like  veterans  we  fol- 
lowed him  with  his  old  familiar  stride,  and  if  there 
was  a  break  in  all  our  line — ^no,  I  can't  beHeve  it. 
We  saluted  the  general,  the  Heutenant  broke  us 
into  column  of  squads,  and  then  we  gave  Eyes 
Right  to  the  captain,  who  stood  at  salute  as  we 
marched  by. 

The  break-up  was  a  heart-rending  affair.  So 
much  had  we  been  delayed  by  the  unexpected 
skirmish  and  the  Httle  investigation  that  there 
was  only  the  smallest  amount  of  time  to  turn  in 
our  equipment,  get  our  baggage,  and  catch  the 
trains  that  would  not  wait.  So  in  the  scrabble 
were  no  real  good-bys,  no  friendly  little  chats 
about  the  past  and  future,  no  appointments  for 
reimions.  I  did  not  even  shake  hands  with  Ban- 
nister as  he  hurried  to  the  boat  that  for  some 
reason  was  his  means  of  getting  away.  There 
were  just  two  Httle  events  that  I  can  describe 
to  you. 

As  we  marched  into  camp  David  was  uneasy, 


3o6  AT  PLATTSBURG 

and  acknowledged  frankly  that  he  was  afraid  his 
mother  would  be  there  to  take  him  home  in  the 
motor.  But  the  famihar  strawberry  Hmousine 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  and  as  we  swung  into 
the  company  street  we  saw  not  David's  mother, 
but  his  father  in  his  ancient  Panama  and  his 
wrinkled  business  suit.  The  boy  shouted  his  de- 
Hght,  and  when  we  broke  ranks  he  dragged  his 
father  to  the  tent  and  introduced  him  to  as  many 
of  us  as  he  could  pin  down  for  a  moment.  And  a 
little  later,  catching  both  Knudsen  and  me,  he 
kept  us  in  the  tent  while  he  reminded  his  father 
of  a  promise.  "You  know,  father,  you  said  you'd 
give  me  any  kind  of  an  automobile  I  wanted,  if 
I  stayed  through  the  hike." 

Mr.  Farnham  had  been  deeply  pleased,  you 
could  see  it  in  his  face,  that  David  had  grown  so 
manly.  Consequently  he  was  the  more  disap- 
pointed at  this  prompt  practical  demand.  But 
though  a  shade  crossed  his  face,  he  answered 
kindly,  "You've  earned  it,  David." 

David  put  a  hand  on  my  arm,  and  on  his  other 
side  drew  Knudsen  a  httle  closer  to  him,  as  if  for 
support.    "Then,  father,  I  want  a  Ford!" 

"A  Ford?"  cried  his  father.  A  Ford !  thought 
I — Si  four  hundred  dollar  car  when  he  might 
spend  his  thousands? 

"Yes,"  said  David,  a  little  unsteadily.  "I  want 
to  learn  to  take  one  apart  and  put  it  together, 
and  then  I  want  you  to  send  another  Ford  am- 
bulance to  France,  with  me  to  drive  it." 


AT  PLATTSBURG  307 

A  glorious  smile  broke  over  the  father's  face, 
of  pride,  and  fondness,  yet  also  of  possible  sac- 
rifice of  this  son  who  was  now  first  showing  his 
manhood — ^for  there  is  danger  in  that  ambulance 
service.  I  saw  the  story  was  true  that  Mr.  Fam- 
ham  has  been  sending  ambulances  abroad;  and 
saw  also  that  David  had  been  afraid  of  his  father's 
opposition  to  a  scheme  which  he  had  been  hatching 
in  secret.  So  he  had  felt  the  need  of  my  support 
and  Knudsen's.  But  the  father  held  out  both 
hands  to  his  boy,  and  Knudsen  and  I  slipped 
quietly  out  of  the  tent  and  walked  together,  with- 
out saying  a  word,  down  to  the  edge  of  the  drill- 
field. 

Said  Knudsen  then:  "Since  it's  settled  now, 
that  silly  mother  can't  interfere." 

I  was  feehng  pleased  that  though  at  first  I  had 
studiously  neglected  David,  he  had  needed  me 
now.  Knudsen's  mind  travelled  much  the  same 
road. 

"A  good  investment,"  he  said,  "the  trouble 
we've  put  into  that  youngster." 

I  had  a  Httle  talk  with  Mr.  Famham  before  the 
train  went.  He  was  overflowing  with  happiness. 
David  had  somehow  got  the  idea  of  service,  and 
unknown  to  us  had  been  planniag  his  life  by  it. 
First  to  help  in  this  emergency  in  France,  then  to 
find  some  way  iu  which  a  rich  man  could  give  his 
time  to  his  country,  in  some  branch  of  public 
service.  It  was  fixed  m  his  mind  that  next  sum- 
mer he  must  be  at  Plattsburg  again,  working  for 


3o8  AT  PLATTSBURG 

a  commission  in  the  reserve.  Beyond  that  he 
would  need  his  father's  advice  and  help. 

"  So  there's  something  more  in  Hf e  for  me  now," 
said  the  father,  "than  the  mere  making  of 
money." 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  all  the  hurry  and  confu- 
sion of  our  getting  ready  to  go  that  I  heard  a  great 
shouting  at  the  head  of  the  street,  and  going  to 
see,  found  the  captain  there,  and  Vera  watching 
from  a  little  distance.  He  had  come  to  take  per- 
sonal leave  of  those  he  knew  best,  shook  hands 
with  every  one,  called  scores  of  us  by  name, 
thanked  us  all  for  our  help  in  his  work,  showed 
in  his  face  his  great  new  happiness.  When  those 
who  pressed  upon  him  first  had  gone  away, 
driven  by  the  necessity  that  was  on  all  of  them, 
he  called  me  to  him  and  made  me  promise  not  to 
leave  with  the  rest,  but  at  least  to  stay  overnight 
— ^for  we  were  to  be  brothers  now,  he  said,  and 
must  know  each  other  better  before  we  separated. 
While  a  new  group  came  and  talked  with  him  I 
went  to  Vera. 

"Frances  is  waiting  in  the  car  outside,"  she 
said,  scarcely  glancing  at  me,  but  with  eager  eyes 
watching  the  captain  and  the  men  who  still  pressed 
upon  him. 

"Is  he  popular  now?"  I  asked.  "Do  the  men 
love  him?  Don't  you  approve  of  him  a  little  bit 
yoiurself?" 

This  roused  her  into  giviug  me  all  her  attention 
for  a  moment.    "Oh,  Dick,"  she  cried,  remem- 


AT  PLATTSBURG  309 

bering,  "if  it  hadn't  been  for  what  you  said  to 
him,  perhaps — !'*  She  couldn't  quite  express  the 
tragedy  that  would  have  followed. 

"Perhaps  it  would  have  taken  a  little  longer, 
that  is  all,"  I  said.  "There,  watch  him,  do." 
For  in  spite  of  herself  her  eyes  would  stray  back 
to  him.  "Frances  will  be  nice  to  me."  And 
Frances  was,  until  I  told  her  I  must  go  back  to 
the  boys. 

There  was  a  minute  or  two  here  and  there 
that  I  could  get  from  the  busy  men.  But  mostly 
I  helped  them  get  away,  cleaned  their  guns, 
handed  in  their  stuff,  helped  them  pack,  lugged 
their  baggage  with  them  to  the  train.  Knudsen 
and  I  and  Clay  had  one  last  short  walk  together, 
up  and  down  the  embankment  beside  the  train, 
soberly  vowing  friendship  for  the  future.  Then 
the  conductor  gave  the  signal,  they  climbed  aboard, 
there  was  a  short  half-minute  of  waving  of  good- 
bys,  and  I  walked  back  alone  across  the  empty 
drill  field. 

I  am  sitting  now  upon  my  bag  in  the  tent  which 
has  so  often  rung  with  our  laughter  or  buzzed  with 
our  talk.  Here  are  the  ridges  and  hollows  made 
by  our  feet,  over  in  the  comer  are  Clay's  old  shoes, 
and  near  me  lie  three  empty  shells  that  David 
threw  out  of  his  pocket.  Our  equipment  is  all 
turned  in,  the  buzzards  in  our  absence  carried 
everything  else  away,  and  this  lonely  silence  is 
more  than  I  can  bear.  In  a  few  minutes  I  shall 
close  this  last  letter  to  you;  then  Frances  will 


3IO  AT  PLATTSBURG 

come  in  the  car  to  take  me  to  a  telegraph  office, 
where  I  shall  wire  you  that  she  and  I  are  starting 
home  tomorrow  with  the  Chapmans,  and  shall 
not  be  home  for  three  days  more.  As  I  shall 
hint  at  the  reason,  you  will  understand  and  will 
forgive  me  this  delay.  I  know,  dear  mother, 
that  your  heart  always  was  with  Frances,  after  all. 
And  so  good-by  to  Plattsburg ! 

Dick. 


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